Forgive Me For I Have Sinned
by IvoryJames
Summary: It might seem their paths have been heading opposite direction, until the moment they find themself at the same place. What happens when their worlds collide? When the long believed truth becomes nothing more than a web of lies? Uncover one secret and two more take its place.
1. Ch 1: Where the Game Begins

**Hello, dear readers! Welcome to the first fanfiction I have ever wrote. I don't know what to expect from the story because I didn't really think about the plot of the story. I just wrote down what came to my mind at that moment and this is where it leads to. I don't know how much AU it will become in the future. Because... Well, I think you will understand. ;-) So I'll be thankful for any reviews and your thoughs.**

 **I don't own anything except Nick and Riley, my only OCs in this story at the moment.**

 **Enjoy and, hopefully, see you soon!**

 **P.S.: I want to apologize for my English. If there are mistakes, keep in mind that I'm not native English speaker. (Or I haven't payed enough attention to my writing. But I'm trying...)**

 **Okay, so here's the first part of the story.**

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It was almost dark outside the glass wall. The wind started to blow more and more, most likely it would bring another storm in the late evening. This kind of weather was nothing unusual here in the middle of Europe during the hot summers.

Nick stood in front of the wide glass wall watching the darkening sky, taking a sip from a bottle of beer in a hand. It was one of those evening when you stop doing anything and just think about what you had actually achieved in your life. Looking at all those impossible possibilities and the paths that could have been taken. But the decisions had been made a long time ago and there's no going back. 'Faber suae quisque fortunae - everyone is the architect of their own happiness... Right, happiness. I can't complain though, I should be happy that I'm alive.'

"You are questioning yourself again, aren't you?" A deep voice of an old man spoke behind her. Before Nick could say anything, he continued. "Doubting your decisions isn't going to help anyone. You always did what you though was right at that moment."

Nick turned to him, holding the bottle tight in the hand, and looked him right in the eyes, not saying anything for a while, just standing there and contemplating the answer. "I'm fine, don't worry about me." Nick said with a smile on her face. But the old man knew her better than well.

"You know, it wouldn't hurt if you let your guard down for a one day. It's not like someone's behind the corner waiting for you to slip and then make an entrance to shoot you or me." He ended with a laugh, trying to ease the tension that had hovered over the house since the previous morning.

Nick looked at him with a frown, not really in a mood for joking. The whole situation didn't look bright from where she was standing. So there was no chance that letting the guard down would happen any time soon. She sighed and drank the rest of her beer. "I gotta go. To do some research. And you, 'le man, need to rest. Riley's gonna be here soon." She had walked to her bedroom, clapping him on the shoulder as she went by.

The old man stood there for another minute, looking at the door that closed behind her. "Those stub-born kids." He muttered, shaking his head.

xxxxx

Nick went through her bedroom to a connected room that was designed as her study room. She grabbed her laptop from the case that lay on the desk and sat down on the couch, impatiently waiting for it to turn on.

Finally, after what seemed like eternity, she put in her password. Scrolling through her e-mails first, she heard that the front door of the house were opened and closed. The red lights lighted up in her head but before she could respond, she heard the familiar voice of her best buddy, Riley. She relaxed then and turned the attention back to one particular e-mail and it's content. It was about the right time she got the files she had asked for one week ago. It looked as if her informant took his time to gather all the intel she requested. 'Guess I'll pay him a visit soon.' But she knew he could be trusted, as long as she paid him enough so he could stay off the radar. He was a wanted man, after all.

As she opened the first file, there was a knock on the door. Immediately she recognized who it was. "Since when you've been knocking, Rye?" Nick called out, not taking her eyes off the screen.

The door opened and Riley came in. As usual, she sat in the armchair and put her feet on the conference table that stood between the chair and couch, not really bothered that her black combat boots were a little bit muddy. 'Looks like it's already raining outside.' Nick noticed.

"Huh, would you like it more if I torn your door down with a grenade?" Riley asked teasingly with the typical smirk on her face that said she was actually considering this option.

"Oh, that wouldn't really attract the attention of our neighbours." Nick gave her a sceptical look. She got to know Riley very well through all the years serving together. And she also knew that Riley had no problem knocking on a door with a grenade or any other kind of explosives. She witnessed it many times and after a year or two she just stopped counting.

"You mean like - foxes, deers and wild boars? Because those are, my dear, pretty much our only neighbours here." Riley started and Nick already knew that it was going to continue. "Why did you even get a house like this? And right in the middle of nowhere. Oh, and you should go down and see how my car looks. I got it cleaned up a couple of days ago and now it looks like it's been inhabitated by homeless and don't even make me start on..." Riley continued with her rambling but before she said all she'd had on her tongue, Nick put her rambling to a stop.

A little irritated, she put her laptop on the table. ,Riley, just stop!" Nick shouted her down and pinched the bridge of her nose.

Riley stared at her now, quiet and dumbfounded. She had seen the look Nick gave her now many times. Mostly when she was at the edge of exhaustion and fainting. Not that she would ever admit it. After quickly getting the message and before she could say anything and possibly start throwing her sentences at Nick, she got cut off again when Nick raised a finger in warning to keep her mouth shut.

"Look, Rye, I'm sorry. I just... I have a lot on my mind now and your babbling's not really helping." Nick added quietly, exhaustion evident in her voice.

"Hey, it's okay, you know that -" Riley started and Nick cut her off in the middle of the sentence.

"Rye, just... Look, I'm not mad at you. Have I ever been?" Riley croosed her arms and gave Nick another of her looks that was telling that she knew better. "Okay, I admit, I was mad at you once or twice, but really? I got fast over the fact that you replaced my lip balzam with a super sticking glue in the middle of a desert." Nick now laughed at the memory but at that time it wasn't that funny. "And as for the location of this house - it's one of the safest places I've had on my list. I'm sorry it doesn't live up to your requirements. The tarmac wasn't included in the final price of this villa. But look on the bright side, we have the jacuzzi." Nick winked at Riley when she burst out laughing.

"Yeah, that pretty much makes up for all the troubles with the car and muddy, slippery road." She dropped after calming down and after putting herself together again, she turned the conversation to a more serious direction. "So, anything new? Finally got the files you wanted?"

"Yeah, I'm going through them now. By far there's nothing we haven't already known or anything out of ordinary." Nick sighed, going her hand through her hair in a desperate manner. She had already been paying the attention to the pictures on the screen.

"Lemme take a look." Riley got up and moved to sit next to Nick. After a quick look over more of the photographies they saw what looked like there was some kind of a deal going down between members of Yakuza, she could tell. She nodded to herself and nudged Nick in the ribs. "You know, your CI must really like you when he goes this close to them. If they had cought him only looking their way, they would have put him down immediately."

"Oh, I'm pretty sure he doesn't like me. Not even a bit 'cause I was the one who shot him, if you have already forgotten. I guess he just likes my money." Nick pointed out, clicking to another picture when she froze.

Riley noticed that Nick stopped dead in her track and took a look at the screen, which was obviously the reason of Nick's sudden change. And immediately she saw what, or better who, was hidden behind her discomfort.

"Well, this was unexpected." Riley remarked drily, still observing the photo. There were standing three men in good looking suits on the terrace of a restaurant. One would say it was just a regular business meeting. But if they hadn't known better. "Where it was captured?" Riley asked when she shook off the shock.

"Berlin, Germany. Two days ago." Nick informed her, looking over more pictures, searching for that one particular face that cought her attention.

"You think he's still there?" Riley asked, her gaze turning to Nick who was fully focused on the screen in front of her.

"No, he's long gone. He's too careful for his own good. Son of a bitch!" Nick shouted and stood up abruptly, going over to look out of the window. It was already dark outside. All she saw was her blurred reflection in the glass. She took a deep breath in and then breathed out. Not that it helped much. "It can't keep going like this, Rye. It must come to an end. And soon."

Riley, still sitting on the couch, knew exactly how Nick felt at the moment. They had been trying to get to that guy for a few years now. But he was always a couple steps in front of them. She looked up at Nick who had already been watching her, her back against the floor-to-ceiling window and the arms crossed on the chest. After a quick glance at her posture and catching the intent look in her eyes it all downed on her.

"You are not serious, right? Because that's a suicide!" Riley laughed drily after her statement, only to get her thoughts together before firing another words at Nick. "How do you imagine doing anything you have in mind now? He's a dangerous man, Nick, much more dangerous than all those we haunted years ago. He's like a disgusting snake, for God's sake! He's himself nothing but venom. You don't want to play that game, Nick. I believe that the only reason why we're alive is that we haven't crossed his path. But if you put yourself on display, you're most likely dead! So what you gonna do? Take a flight to China, knock on his door and say 'hello, I'm here to send you to hell, so please be reasonable and don't fight me'? If you want to get killed just ask me, I will even do that for free!" Riley finished her furious speech, not liking the idea of her good friend confronting somone so dangerous.

Nick stood there, not moving a bit, giving Riley her full attention, but she couldn't help herself. When Riley ended the last sentence she had to laugh. It had been a while since she saw her friend so furious, reminding her of good old times, when their life was much simplier at dealing with bad guys.

"You think this is funny?" Riley asked, not believing that she really heard Nick laughing.

"Actually it is, Rye." But Nick's smile disappeared afterwards. "Look, you and I, we both know he needs to be stopped. All the damage he's caused for the last years. Who will stop him? There isn't enough of time to make some things right and you know what I'm talking about. And I'm not also going into this headfirst. I'm gonna get a plan, don't worry about it. I'm tired of hiding from him and searching for another safe places." Nick sighed. It would be much harder than it looked, to put down someone like him and she was aware of it.

"So, how do we do it then? Shall I call the boys?" Riley suggested. She really couldn't deny the soldier within her. "We can put together our old team. They knew the break was temporary, anyway."

"Yeah, but no one has expected it to be three years. They all got back to their families. I don't think it would be fair to take it from them. And anyway, I don't plan on making this a military mission. In this case, the less people are involved the betteer." Nick sighed, not really knowing where to start. This would require a lot of research and preparation.

"Maybe you're right, three years are quite a while, but don't forget we have always had each other's backs. So, what do you want me to do?" Riley asked, sounding like a soldier on a mission.

If Nick hadn't know any better, she would say that Riley was kind of excited to go on a hunt. 'I guess that the fast cars and hours spent at the shooting range can't satisfy her requirements. But I'm not gonna drag her in. Not in the front line.'

"Look, Rye, I know you want to go down and slice his throat but that's not the way. I want you to stay here with our old man, okay? Can you do that for me?"

Riley raised eyebrows, not sure if she had heard right. "You want me to stay here while you're doin'-"

"Rye?" Nick stopped her again. "I'm asking you as a friend. Don't make me make it an order." Nick said with a slight threat in her voice.

"Okay. Whatever. But if things will go south, and I know they will..." Riley paused, not believing herself that she agreed on staying behind. "You will be the death of me, you know that? You're like the little sister I've never had." Riley smiled, thinking about how happy she was to have Nick as a 'sibling', because her three brothers were unbearable most of the time. 'The perks of being the youngest of four.' "And I will call our boys, I bet they would like to know about what's going on, and maybe keep them on standby in case the things get messy."

"Okay. Sounds like a plan to me. Thanks, Rye, I appreciate it." Nick was grateful. Riley and the rest of her team were sent from God himself. They were her family, she would do anything for them just like they would do anything for her.

"So, what now?" Riley asked, still unsure about Nick's plans.

"Now I'm gonna get through the rest of the files." Nick said and went to sit back on the couch.

"You know what I mean under the word 'now', Nick." Riley prompted.

Nick sighed with laptop on her knees again, "I'm going to visit an old friend in Hawaii. I guess that's best to start there. And maybe if we get lucky, will be able to avoid the collateral damage. I know that our person of interest has been on the Islands before, it's a matter of time for him to come back. But this time, he won't leave them. Not alive anyway." And this is it. A soldier on a mission.

"So we are really gonna do it, huh?" Riley asked more for herself but Nick didn't miss it.

"Yeah, we are." Nick answered, feeling somehow relieved that she had made this decision. The decision that she felt was right at this moment.

Riley didn't miss Nick devilish smirk. She wear it everytime before the mission. It was her way how to cope with the nervousness, because honestly, who wouldn't be nervous? When you're nervous, it means you care. And one couldn't do this without caring. But now it was much more. In this case it was personal. And there is no mercy for something as personal as this. On Riley's face grew the reflection of Nick's smile. 'Oh, Wo Fat, Wo Fat, whatcha gonna do, whatcha gonna do when she comes for you..."

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On the other side of the world in the middle of the Pacific ocean was late morning. Unlike the Europe, the weather here was sunny, hot, and humid as always. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. Or maybe not?

"So, how was your evening?" Detective Danny Williams confronted Steve McGarrett as he walked in to the Commander's office at Five-0 Task Force Headquarters.

"Fine." Commander didn't bother with longer explanation, which made Danny be more curious about the whole situation.

"Fine? Just fine? How can that be fine, Steve? You had dinner yesterday evening with your dead mother!" Danny wanted to give his partner one of his speeches but before he did so, he had realized that maybe it's not the best idea after all to put his nose into Steve's personal things. But he was his partner, they were supposed to trust each other, right? "So it went well then? Did she tell you why she left, in the first place?"

Steve took his eyes off the computer and looked at Danny. Danny took a notice of his bloodshot eyes and darker circles under them.

"She didn't really say anything I could hold on to. Neither her story, nor about Wo Fat." Steve answered, exhaustion evident in his voice. Danny didn't like to see Steve like this. He would bet that Steve hadn't closed his eyes at night for more than an hour.

"But she's staying, right?" As Steve nodded, Danny felt more at ease. It meant that Steve and Doris, his mother, would have more opportunities to talk about the last almost twenty years. "Look, Steve, as much as I love you being around, you should head home and get some rest. I can say you haven't slept much. And we don't even have a case, so your absence can be excused for one day."

"I'm fine, Danny." Steve replied and turned his attention back to the reports that needed to be done by the end of the week.

Danny immediately noticed Steve's sudden interest in writing and reviewing reports. 'That's so unlike Steve'. Danny sighed. "What are you doing, Steven?" He asked, determined to make his point.

"What does it look like? I'm doing my job." Steve replied as if was the most obvious thing to do.

"Yes, I see. Despite the fact that you have never bothered doing the reports. Why the change, Steve? If you think this will take your mind off your mother then you're wrong." This time Steve looked up at Danny, for once onsidering the idea of going somewhere to think over the last couple of days. He looked back at the report in his hands, not really knowing why he though they would keep him busy. "Hey, I can do them for you. Just go and find yourself something to do. Go shoot something or swimm to the mainland, I don't care what you choose. As long as you come tomorrow not looking like a zombie, I approve it."

Steve sighed and closed the file. "Thanks, Danny. I appreciate it." He stood up not bothering to put all the files on the one pile. He really wasn't in mood for any of this. He needed to clear a couple of things and he knew that it couldn't be done here.

"What are you still doing here?" Danny rushed him but before Steve left the office, Danny let him know that he would stop by after the work for a bottle of beer. Steve, naturally, didn't mind. It became their tradition.

Danny looked at the mess on Steve's desk, "It's gonna be a long Monday."


	2. Ch 2: Today

**Hello everyone!**

 **Firstly, I want to thank you for taking a few minutes to read the first chapter of this story. I haven't really expected to have any followers or likes. But here we are. I hope you like it at least a little and I will try to do my best to come up with a reason for you to keep this story in your libraries for a little longer. You know, ideas come and go, some of them stay longer, some of them get edited and eventually written down on a paper. Some days are rich, some are poor. One day I could write two thousand words and the next I feel like my muse tripped over her own leg and banged her head on the pavement, following her brain running away to a more comfortable and warmer place... Like Hawaii, for example.**

 **So please, bear with that someday incompetent brain of mine. I will try to persuade him to stay sane more often (and if it will not work, I'll just bribe him with sweets and chocolate cookies).**

 **P.S.: New followers and reviewers are always very welcome. Also, if you have any questions or noticed something that doesn't make much sense, let me know.**

 **P.S. 2: Nothing changed since the last chapter - I still don't own anything… except my OCs. (Anyway, do I have to put this proclamation in every chapter? O.o).**

 **Okay, now let's get to the main reason why we are all here, 'cause we're not getting any younger. Enjoy!**

***************  
Steve got out of the Headquarters and sat in his pick-up truck. He had no idea where he wanted to go or what he wanted to do, therefore he decided to just get on the road and drive. Although one thing was certain, he was angry. And maybe a little sad? Because it turned out that his dead mother is not dead anymore and a man he trusted the most after the death of his father had lied to him. But what was killing him the most was the realization that his father had died for nothing. Everything he got from investigating the death of someone who had been alive for all those long years was a casket with his name on it.

He accepted his mother's proposal to have a dinner with her the other day in hope that she could put some pieces together to add at least a little more to the story. But what he learnt hadn't helped him. It was unnerving, to say the least. She had put her work first and let her family behind, her loving husband and two children, a son and a daughter. He could just wrap his mind around it. What mother would do something like his did.

Before he could decide where to go, he found himself parking at the side of the road at the cemetery. Deep inside he must have known where he was going - this was the place where he had gone every time he needed to think or calm his wandering mind down.

 **Undisclosed location, somewhere in the Central Europe**

"You're sure you have everything you need?" Riley asked as she was lying on the bed, watching Nick packing her travel bag. She threw a skeptical eye on her. "You can't forget bikini!" Riley added after she caught the expression in her eyes.

"Well," she sighed, "define _'everything I need'_. Because there are things I surely need but can't take." _Like my precious weapon collection_ , she sighed.

"And then, there are things you, and I quote, _'don't need'_ and yet you can take them with you." Riley retorted as she pointed her finger at the chest of drawers where the swimsuit was supposed to be. "You never know." She shrugged.

Nick sighed again, already tired of packing her not so large travel bag. She just couldn't get the right feeling of it. It felt different. It was different after all. This time she was packing light summer clothes instead of military cargo pants and t-shirts. There were sandals instead of heavy combat boots. Hairbrush and cosmetic bag were in her mind labelled as a pathetic replacement of gun and spare magazines.

"Will this work?" Riley suddenly sat up at the end of the bed, concerned for one of her dearest friends. And Nick noticed it right away.

"I don't know." Nick admitted. "But I'm not going to give up until I try to make things right." She reassured her friend.

"Just promise me you won't get killed."

"I won't get killed. Not willingly anyway." She looked at the watches on her right hand. "I think it's time to say bye to our old man." Nick stood up, zipped up her bag and threw it over her shoulder, and caught a glimpse of Riley's face expression. "Don't look at me like that. It's not my funeral... At least not yet." She smiled. The humor never leaving her.

"Hey, I'm just worried. Can't blame me for that. We have never done anything like this. For many years we have covered each other's back but this... this is something new. And I don't like the feeling of it." She sighed looking at the framed picture of their team that stood on the shelf in front of her. "And don't make me start on how dangerous it is. Of all the crazy things we have ever done this one is way above hiding in the strawberry fields... I would have never thought that you could do something even more stupid than that but I think I got it wrong. If I knew this years ago, I would have killed you again right after you came back from the dead that one time. It would make everything much easier for all of us and we wouldn't have to deal with anything like this." She stopped after she realized what she had said moments ago. The dealing with the loss of her best friend, sister, and their leader wouldn't be easy for her. It wouldn't be easy for anyone she had known. "I'm sorry. Guess, I just got caught up in the loop of eternal talking. Huh, again. At least promise you'll call as often as you can to update us on the weather." With that she stood up and embraced Nick in a tight hug. "I'm gonna miss you, sis."

"Would you believe me if I said that I'm going to miss you guys too?" She said barely breathing because of Riley's strong hold.

"Nah." She said, breaking the hug. "Just be careful, okay?

This time Nick put aside all the sarcastic remarks she had always had at hand ready to shoot and only said two words. "I will." With that she adjusted the bag on her shoulder, turned around, and walked through the door to say goodbye to the man who was somewhere in the house before the leave to the airport.

 **Steve's house, Oahu, HI**

A minute long waiting at the Steve's door after knocking that would wake up even the dead got Danny a little happy, thinking that for once his partner took his words seriously. But that feeling vanished at the same moment as he noticed tired looking Steve leaning on the already opened door. Danny noticed he looked more exhausted than in the morning but then the truth hidden behind Steve's fatigue downed on him. His words from this morning obviously disappeared in the wind before they could reach Steve's ears. _'How typical'._ And even though he should have been used to it by now, he was concerned for wellbeing of the former Navy SEAL who was standing in front of him without a word. "Do you realize that I was deadly serious when I told you to get some rest?" He stepped in without hesitation, heading to the kitchen to put the beer he brought in to the fridge and took two cold ones. He turned around handing still silent Steve a bottle before he started questioning him about his whereabouts. "So, what've you been up to today? And please, don't say that you were at home resting because I know you weren't. Want to fill me in on your today's adventures?"

Clearly, Steve was in no mood to be a part of his partner's interrogation, especially when Danny was shooting the questions at him. But the sooner the topic of his whereabouts would be dropped the better. "I, um... after I left the headquarters I drove to the cemetery."

"Good. And where did you go then? You haven't spent all day at the cemetery, have you?" The more questions Danny asked the more curious he got about the unspoken details which made him wonder how high was the possibility that his partner did something stupid today. "What did you do, Steven?"

Steve turned his gaze away for a moment. "I might have run into Joe White there and we exchanged words-"

"Steve..." Danny wanted to interrupt him but he immediately realized that it would lead to another not told facts so he let him finish.

"-and I might have told him something about how I now see all those years when I considered him a friend of my family. Man, I even considered him a part of the family. But for all those years… he knew everything and acted like... " He couldn't find the right words, that's how furious he was. "He's a traitor, Danny. And I believed every word he said. My father trusted him too when he sent me away! And all I get from this are lies. I'm just done with him." He drank half of the bottle while Danny was looking at him in shock. It would take a few seconds to digest what Steve said.

"Okay, I get it, Steve. You were angry so I understand where your words come from." He reasoned as if he wanted to persuade himself that Steve's actions were valid in this situation. But then... "You didn't punch him, did you?" And all he got in response were Steve's eyes looking anywhere but him. "You're impossible," was all he said before he dropped the topic and moved on to the work-related stuff.

***********  
The five and a half hour long connecting flight from Los Angeles to the final destination, Honolulu in Hawaii, was one of the comfortable ones. That couldn't be said about the flight from Central Europe to the city of angels. It would be a major understatement to say that twelve hours in the air were pure hell. From the angry passengers that were arguing with the attendants because of the sudden problems that caused the plane to take off with ninety minutes delay at the beginning to snoring neighbor for the most part of the flight, the atmosphere was a good source of growing headache minute by minute.

It was moments like this when Nick missed the deafening roar of the C-130 engines and men who she shared the space of it with. She might have not known them all personally, but they were in the same boat. They shared the values they believed in, they had similar interest, spent their deployment time almost identically.

These attributes couldn't be seen in the passengers of this flight because there weren't any. What was connecting the angry businessman sitting behind her, mother with her young child in the front row, and the snoring neighbor, if they had believed in different values or been doing different things for living? _'Probably only the destination. And aching backs too.'_

Finally, the second part of the whole trip was a piece of cake. Everything had been going smoothly, no annoying passengers were present on board that delighted not only the cabin crew but Nick with slowly subsiding headache too. She could have allowed herself to take a short nap, so she would be ready for what was waiting for her after the landing. She woke up about an hour before their scheduled landing. After a quick stretch, she pulled the phone out of the pocket to check if she hadn't missed anything. She quickly typed a message informing that she would be landing soon and after check-in in the hotel she would be good to go to the place he was supposed to be at. _'See you soon, old friend.'_ She put the phone back in its place before she started to countdown the minutes until landing.

The night time suits Honolulu well, although the green hills surrounding the city are cloaked in the darkness, only contours visible thanks to the city lighting and clear sky with bright almost full moon and stars shining above.

The city itself hasn't really changed in the last twelve years. _'God, it's been so long.'_ So long since Nick's first visit of Oahu. And somehow, she felt like she hasn't been away for longer than a year.

Later in the early night as she was walking down the streets to the bar where she would meet the friend, her mind wandered off, exactly twelve years back in time.

 ***Flashback***

 _Sixteen-year-old Nicole and her five-year older best friend Rebeka, who everyone called Bex, were sitting on a king-sized bed in their hotel room, facing each other. On the bed between them for almost an hour had lain a large map of Oahu and related islands. There had been marked spots on the map, all made by the two young women._

 _It was not every day that they would get a chance to travel together very far but this Hawaiian trip had made up for every missed opportunity. The only thing that needed to be done now was to decide where to go and what to see first._

 _"How about we start with some city activities today and tomorrow we can do some hiking?" Rebeka prompted after realization that their bickering, although friendly, was not coming to an end, not even after the longest flight they were on, during which they had been discussing their approach of exploring the islands for almost the whole length of it._

 _"Right. You want to start your vacation with a killing shopping spree?" Nicole raised a brow at her friend. "You already have your suitcases full, ready to explode at any moment. You really think you'll find some free space in there?" She asked, pointing at two large suitcases and a big handbag that were lying by the couch._

 _"I am no magician here and I don't expect my belongings in the cases to magically shrink. But I know there's a lot of space in one of your suitcases which is the place where all the results of our 'killing shopping spree' go." Rebeka gave Nicole the sweetest smile she could create in that moment. If it really looked sweet, it was disputable, but she was known for being the crazy one. That's how she ended up on a honeymoon taking her best friend instead of a husband anyway. Or let's better say her ex future husband._

 _"I still can't believe we're here. That I am here. I'd have never at any point in my life imagined that I'd come here one day. God, it's too perfect to be tru-" A white pillow landed on Nicole's face before she finished her sentence._

 _"Did it help? You believe now this is real deal?" Rebeka laughed after she dodged a pillow flying back her way._

 _Nicole sat up and looked at her friend sheepishly. "Are you sure you're okay with me being here? I mean, I know things didn't go as planned recently..."_

 _"Okay? I'm more than okay. I think sending that bastard on his way was the best decision I have ever made. And as for this vacation, I paid for all wedding accessories. There's no way I'd be giving up that much money for nothing, so I stood my ground and got the flight tickets. And who else I'd bring here with me? I've known you since you were born and I consider you my closest family. So, you've been, my dearest Nick, a reasonable choice. And moreover, you have some connections to this island. And go where your mom had travelled to and see what she had seen is one hell of an experience. And I'd like to be part of it too." She finished and opened her arms for her friend who had some tears building in her eyes._

 _"Thank you." She said as she was embraced in a tight hug. "For everything."_

 _"So how about we take your mom's diary then and arrange the trips the same way she had." Rebeka offered after breaking the hug._

 _"That would be great. Thanks, Bex."_

 _"But let's not forget about the shopping thing." Rebeka added and Nicole laughed through the still falling tears. But they were long gone before they headed to the first thing on their list, Diamond Head Crater._

 _Finally, they were both happy like they haven't been for a long time. What a shame that their stay in the paradise changed into hell a week after their arrival._

 ***End of the flashback***

Nick shook off the dreadful feeling she got from reminiscing about the incident that happened all those years ago and stepped in to the bar with a game face on. There was no time to dwell on the past. What happened, happened, and there's no way of turning it back.

The bar was half full and it looked like people there were having a good time, either sitting and laughing at what they were saying, or having fun dancing to an older song in the far corner of the spacious room. After taking in the bits of local atmosphere, she turned her attention to the bar looking for the man she was supposed to meet there. To her surprise, or not, he was nowhere to be found. Only one word popped up in her mind and with a sight, it was all that needed to be said: _'Men'._

She moved her slightly sleepy feet toward the bar area and sat up on the high bar stool. A young bartender stepped closer, ready take the order, when he noticed the foreignness in how she was holding her posture, not to talk about her dark clothes, and signs of exhaustion on her face despite the fact she tried hard not to show it. "Long flight, huh?" Sometimes it is interesting how the youngsters are so observant. Yet the elders think they only pay full attention to the newest gadgets.

"Is it so obvious?" She asked more herself than the young man in front of her. He only smiled, not wanting to pry by asking too many question. And he knew, after all, that people who are at the bar by themselves, alone, are not inclined to the conversation if it's not related to the drinks menu.

"What can I get you?" He leaned on the bar fully listening.

"Whiskey, neat." She simply said. It was hard to say if her answer took him by surprise because this is Hawaii and foreigners often come to drink more tropical drinks. If it did surprise him, he didn't show it, only nodded and turned around to comply his task. After a moment he turned around, glass of brown liquor in his hand.

"This is on the house. Welcome to Hawaii." He placed the drink at the bar desk and winked before leaving her alone with her thoughts.

Time went by, minute after minute, until she had been sitting there for almost hour and a half. With her companion still nowhere to be seen, she checked her phone again, hopefully it would contain a message with some sort of explanation of this inconvenience. But the screen was as blank as it had been for the last ninety minutes.

She ordered her fifth fill before she decided to call it a day. She had hoped that she could get something to hold on to by the end of the day but at this moment it looked like she became a victim of some sort of a joke. She had been used to operate on a borrowed time and every minute spent the wrong way might have led to catastrophic consequences.

With phone in one hand, she threw enough cash that could keep her going for the rest of the night at the bar and without another word left the place.

She took the same direction she come from almost two hours ago. As she was on her way to the hotel, she dialed the number she had sent a message to hours ago while she was on the plane. The call went straight to the voicemail. There was nothing she could do, only to leave a message.

She took a deep breath, clearing her mind off the alcohol, before saying the words of threat that were on her tongue, not that it helped though. "I hope you're dead by now, Joe White, because I accept no explanation... nor apology, in this case... for letting me kill expensive time at the bar by you not showing up. Not unless you say you're dead. So, you better be when I find you." She angrily disconnected the call, shoved it in the jeans' pocket and continued her way to the hotel, looking forward to the moment when her body would hit the bed face first.


	3. Ch 3: Demons of War

**Hello!**

 **I present you the third chapter of the story. It's a little longer than the first two and hopefully you will not close it before reaching the end, because the first half is a little bit different and I wrote it without any knowledge about how it works in the military. So, if you know more, then you better read it with closed eyes** **.**

 **And this way I'd like to thank Melfris and Guest for reviews, as well as everyone else for following the story. You all keep me motivated to move the story forwards.**

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 **Chapter 3: Demons of War**

 _4 years ago_

 _"So, it was like Around the World in Eighty Days?" Captain Lukas Koerner, a military surgeon assigned to the 4th Special Purpose Detachment of the 3rd Special Operations Regiment as a medic, stepped out of the Humvee after Captain Nicole Moore drove it to a stop next to other military vehicles in the parking lot-like space next to the dark green military tent at the military base located somewhere in the Middle East._

 _"No, not really. How many times do I have to tell you that it was neither eighty days nor around the world. It was only four weeks and we spent them in the Farther India." She retorted after she closed the driver's side door and went to open the backdoor to get her bag._

 _"Who is we?" From behind the Humvee that parked simultaneously with the two captains jumped out a shorter skin-tanned man with dark hair, the First Lieutenant Terrance Galleano, radio specialist. He greeted the doctor with their special handshake. Captain Moore only shook her head at their childish behavior. Then Lieutenant Galleano turned his attention to her, ready to get the answer to his question but she silenced him by raising a pointing finger in warning._

 _"Zip it, Swordfish! Don't. Even. Try." She tried to say as seriously as possible, even gave him a threatening look. But before Terrance "Swordfish" Galleano could drop the topic, his question got answered by the doctor._

 _"She's been dating this guy for a while. Spent some time of the leave together in Thailand and Malaysia." He laughed at the look on the fellow captain's face and if looks could kill, he would have been dead right now. Like twice._

 _"Traitor!" She shouted, baring teeth at both of them, put the bag on her shoulder and left toward the command center, an old timeworn building behind the tent, leaving behind the laughs and facetious remarks. "Children."_

 _But as much as she tried to be angry with either of them, it never worked._

 _Although Lieutenant Galleano's nickname was Swordfish, due to his endless inquisitiveness, he was a trustworthy man, brave soldier and a great friend. But maybe from time to time it would do no harm to him to pacify his witty Italian-French personality._

 _As for the Captain Lukas "Coroner" Koerner, his German roots equipped him with punctuality and accuracy at what he does._

 _Truth to be told, they were an irreplaceable asset to the team. The same sticks to the rest of the team, Lieutenants Riley "Rye" Reyfeld and Ryan "Frostbite" Kreutz._

 _..._

 _Captain Moore stepped into a small, poor- furnished conference room. The four members of the team had been quietly sitting at the old scratched wooden table. The scene reminded her of disobedient students in the principal's office. However, after she realized their team had been joined by another three army officers, she knew the truth couldn't be far from the scene from school. And on top of that, she came late and that was a big no in this department. But when those puppies were so cute..._

 _At the sudden movement at the doorstep, all seven pairs of eyes were stabbing her, some of them more, some less._

 _"Did they teach you in the elementary school what is time and how it works?" Asked the man who was seated at the head of the oval table situated in the middle. The man was the highest ranked army officer in the room, General Reginald Parson himself. In the full uniform and with the sharp expression on his face he looked frightening. No one would want to get on his bad side, it was a so-called suicide. And yet, someone had the guts to turn up late, and it didn't matter she had been only almost two minutes late._

 _"I'm sorry, sir." She apologized, turned her eyes to the ground and without a word sat down on the empty seat by Riley's side._

 _"There better be a very important reason for being late." She looked up at the man sitting by the General Parson's side, on the left. She didn't know him; his face didn't look familiar at all. But the stars on his uniform told her that he was a Colonel. Colonel Happer, to be exact. Then the feeling of familiarity hit her, although it had been buried too deep to uncover it now. But eventually she would remember where that name came from, so she shook it off for now._

 _"It won't happen again, sir." She reassured him looking straight into his dark eyes. He only scoffed at her words and let the General Parson start the meeting. She hadn't liked him since the first moment and she had the feeling that maybe her colleagues shared her opinion. But no one could say a word, of course. They were all pulling on the same end of the rope, after all._

 _"Now that everyone is present, how about we start, in medias res. This right here-" General pointed at the pile of files in front of him, "is all intel we managed to gather on your next mission that starts by the end of the day. But before you get the details, I'd like to introduce you Colonel Richard Happer."He pointed to the dark-eyed man on his left side. After receiving the information about the health of the Colonel James Winston and Captain Jackson Pratt's decision to leave, I had to reassure the Tactical Operation Center that this unit would be fully functional. After Colonel Happer's personal request and a thoughtful consideration of unit's status, I decided to assign the 3rd SPD to Colonel Happer, along with the unit's new commanding officer of his own choosing, Captain Jonathan Reith." General pointed at the man who had a smug look on his face as he was sitting on Colonel's left side, clearly enjoying his fifteen minutes of fame._

 _At this gesture, the original members gave each other confused looks until their gazes met at Captain Nick Moore. They presumably didn't approve of the change, as they believed that if there had been any changes in the leadership, Captain Moore would become the new commander. She had proved that she was more than capable of handling things around here and everyone knew it. But obviously women in leading positions were not trusted, especially in military. Or did this curse revolve only around this unit? One could have been wondering about it as more and more women had taken over higher seats in this food chain in the recent years._

 _They had expected that General's words get a reaction out of her, a possible objection, but she had just been closely listening to every word that left the General's lips, not paying any attention to her indignant fellows._

 _She tried hard to look calm on the outside, but deep down it had infuriated her. They couldn't replace someone who they had known for years with someone who they had known for five minutes, and not to mention the fact that by the end of the day they would face the enemy. She had known people more suitable for this position and none of them were Captain Reith or Colonel Happer, in that matter. There had been one significant part missing. Trust. 'You can't assign it, you earn it' were one of the first words their former commanding officer told them at the beginning of their journey many years ago._

 _"My part here's over now so I'll leave space to Colonel Happer. But before I leave..." He looked at each of the five members, "You've been highly successful in the past in direct attack missions. That's why I chose you to do this. Don't let me down." The words came out and one might think they were sincere. It was a risk to create a special unit with not one, but two women, but his worry about possible regrets had slowly disappeared and now he had fully trusted the team's competence. With a nod, he left five members of the Special Purpose unit in the room to talk about the details with their new man in charge and his yes man._

 _"Now back to work-related business, please." Colonel Happer jumped up and made everyone's head turn to him. "What you are going into requires you being in your top form, both physically and mentally." He opened the first folder that was on top of the pile and sent it over to male participants before continuing. "We got a word from our sources that some important documents had been stolen from the transit. The package you're going to pick up is located right here." He took the second folder and sent it the same way as previously._

 _"Idiot." Riley murmured under her breath silently only to get unnoticeably jabbed in the ribs by Nick's elbow. 'Grow up.' She mouthed._

 _"What kind of documents are we talking about?" Galleano interrupted. Nick rolled her eyes. Who else than Swordfish would ask silly questions. It had been obvious they didn't want them to know the true nature of the stolen documents, but he had a point though._

 _"I'm afraid that is-" He got interrupted again._

 _"A secret. Of course, it is a secret." Nick gave Galleano a look that said he should have known better. Then turned to the man in charge to ask the same question. "With all due respect, sir, how do we know what kind of papers to retrieve? As much as we know now, it can be anything from magazines to leaflets-"_

 _"Or even a toilet paper." Riley somewhat unimpressed with the current situation added her opinion that earned a few laughs, even the corners of Colonel's mouth quirked up._

 _"It's good to see humor's still with you, Lieutenant. We will see how far it goes." The tone of his voice changed from light to serious in a matter of milliseconds. "And to answer your question, Captain, the files you're looking for are locked in an inaccessible safety box located in a small compound that is, for our advantage, not heavily armed or secured. We believe that the enemy works under an assumption that we won't be looking for the package there, as we would not expect it to be on such an accessible location. Inside the box, there is a one single hard disk drive containing information about many military operatives. If the information become public or end up in enemy's hands, know, there will be a lot of blood and dozens of widows. That's how much I can tell you about the files." He finished, noticing that for the first time everyone in the room had been on the same page, and smiled for himself inside his head._

 _All of the them were discussing the details afterwards to come up with a solid plan of attack. In these situations everyone had needed to be silent, except a blowing grenade or smoke can here and there as a replacement of door knocking, and extremely fast so the opposite part wouldn't catch what hit them in time. Retrieve the thing and get lost before any possible back-up would arrive. As many times as they had done the same thing like this one, it had never got easier. The task was there, the enemy too, and not to mention the same risk of losing lives._

 _"...and before I leave I got one last thing." Colonel Happer stood up, straightening his jacket. "I don't expect any trouble, but if you get into any, we don't know you and you don't know us. Are we clear?"_

 _"Yes, sir." Everyone said automatically in unison._

 _Colonel Happer looked at each soldier, his eyes lingering on Nick's for few seconds longer as he wished them good luck. Then, after he patted their new commanding officer on the shoulder, he made his way to the door._

 _Only after he had left they allowed themselves to let sink in the fact that they were sent on a black op which means that if it goes south, they are on their own._

 _..._

 _"I don't like it." Lieutenant Ryan Kreutz, known as Frostbite, complained as they were putting their tool bags into the Humvee trunks in the early evening. "I don't like it." He repeated._

 _"What's up with you, Frosty?" Riley, who was leaning on the side of the vehicle, asked him after she couldn't take the complaining any longer. "I thought your nickname meant that you can keep your head cool in every situation?" She asked, wondering about the actual reason why did the name stick to him._

 _"You're forgetting the fact that he grew up in the Swiss Alps." Galleano piped in._

 _"Well, that could work too." She shrugged. "Maybe we could ask the Coroner if he could diagnose him. He's somehow losing his cool." She whispered quietly that only Nick could hear her._

 _She laughed but then realized Captain Koerner was not with them. "Speaking of that, have any of you seen Luke? He should've been here already. I want to say goodbye before we leave." Nick looked at the watches on her right wrist, seeing that it was almost the right time to leave._

 _"What? Don't like when someone's late?" Galleano smirked._

 _"Oi, just shut up." Nick shushed him._

 _"Speak of the devil." Riley interrupted them as she saw Captain Koerner coming their way. "And Happer and Hopper right behind him."_

 _"Oh no, you didn't." Galleano tried hard to contain his laugh but it got harder and harder by every second._

 _"I like that." Nick said as Frostbite raised his eyebrows. "What? We all know that he hops like Happer whistles."_

 _..._

 _"You. Gotta. Be. Kidding. Me." Riley said disbelievingly at the sight in front of her. Not that she had seen much, everything had been covered in the darkness and for an hour or so it still would be, but thanks to the night vision she got the foundation of the picture._

 _"Sir, I think there is no way we can get close unnoticed if we go from here." Frostbite informed their commander as he scanned the area himself._

 _"We could go around and try from the opposite, northern side. We've seen the maps, we might find there a way to go in." Galleano tried._

 _But commander did not acknowledge their opinions, he had been deep in thoughts. "Captain Moore, what's your insight?" He turned his attention to the silent person standing by his left side. "When women are silent, even God has no idea what's goin' on in their minds. Care to share?" He tried to joke with no success and plus it smelled like the kind of jokes that Colonel Happer would use._

 _"Going around to approach the compound from opposite side would take too much time. We wouldn't make it out by sunrise if we all went there." She argued after she collected and sorted the facts._

 _"Very well. What do you suggest then?" He prompted._

 _"Let me and Lieutenant Kreutz approach from here. You, Lieutenant Galleano and Lieutenant Ryefeld can go and try to get there by the time we'll be on the way out." She suggested in the same manner as when she had been the second in command._

 _"You can't be ser-" Riley tried to argue when commander interrupted her._

 _"I must agree with Captain Moore, Lieutenant." He turned back to Nick. "You have quite outstanding deductive skills... " He paused. "For a woman." Satisfied with his remark, he continued. "It is decided then. Kreutz, Moore, you've got ten minutes, then go. Reyfeld, Galleano, with me. See you on the other side." With that he secured his tactical gear and left, Galleano with a nod to his colleagues quickly following his steps while Riley managed to utter final words to Nick._

 _"You're dead." She whispered in a serious tone and then smirked, letting her friend know that they are still on good terms with each other._

 _There were only two of the team left at the original spot. Lieutenant Ryan Kreutz and Captain Nicole Moore._

 _"I though Colonel said it was a cornfield when we discussed the details" He mused loudly._

 _"Obviously not." She muttered in response, not really surprised that things turned out this way at the very beginning._

 _They only could guess what would happen next as they were looking at the at least half a mile-long strawberry field that they had to crawl across unnoticed to reach the premises of the compound..._

 _..._

 _Then the fire died down._

 _..._

 _She had been burning in the blazing fire of pain._

 _And then everything went to black._

 _..._

 _But the pain came back._

 _And then it subsided as she welcomed the darkness._

 _Again._

…...

She woke up covered in sweat. Not only were her demons haunting her through the day, but they didn't leave her alone at night either. It took a strong will to keep going, day by day, night by night, running away only to bump into them head first once again. If there was some bright light at the end of the misery, and she was sure there was, it was worth to keep going. To take things to the finish line and restore what needed to be restored.

She pulled herself together before standing up to go to the bathroom to take a cold shower to fully wake up and wash away the bits and pieces of another nightmare.

She picked up her phone to check the time first, and if someone had been looking for her. Time on the screen read 5:21 in the morning and below the time was a notification of one missed call. She clicked on the icon in hope that Joe White had finally found time for her. But her prayers were not answered. Riley called, most likely she wanted to know how the bar meeting went the previous evening. There was not much to talk about except what she learnt while sitting at the bar listening to the senseless rambling of a man who wanted to drink away the memories of his ex or to occasional screams of small group of half-drunk college students who obviously passed the finals' week. But whether she wanted or not, she had to return the call. But not before she took a shower.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"So, you're saying that he didn't show up and you spent the night at the bar by yourself." Riley mused after she had listened to everything Nick had told her. "And he didn't pick up when you called him. So, you left him a voice mail where you told him..." She paused for a second. "And he hadn't called back yet." Another pause. "Seriously, what's wrong with them men, that's not how you treat a woman, especially if the woman is you... Hey, stop laughing, it's not funny!" She addressed the last part to someone who was standing next to her. "So whatcha gonna do now?" She turned her attention back to the ongoing conversation.

"I'm not sure. He was the only person who could put some light into it." She sighed before the bulb in her head turned on. She was fresh out of shower but her brain still took its sweet time to become fully functioning again. "Hey, Rye, could you get me his home address? I think I have no other choice." She grew aggravated by every moment at the unnecessary trouble she got because of one man. This part should have been the easiest. Yet, the same had been said about many missions and similar situations and in the end, they turned out to be one hell of a mess.

"I'm on it." Riley interrupted her line of thoughts which Nick was thankful for. _'Not the right time to dwell on the past.'_ She reminded herself for like hundredth time since she had arrived on the Island.

"Just send me the address when you get it."

"Yup. Hope to hear from ya soon." Nick disconnected the call afterwards and landed on the bed, watching the ceiling fan, not really thinking about anything.

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Crime never slept and with every sunrise came new challenges and the Wednesday morning wasn't any different.

Danny parked his Camaro at Steve's driveway. He had been infuriated that his partner didn't pick up his phone when he called twice. Or when Chin Ho Kelly called, for that matter. All the way from his apartment to Steve's house he had wondered if Steve had been still asleep or doing some ninja related stuff they had taught him in the Army. _'Or Navy... Whatever.'_

He didn't bother to knock this time, he simply used the help of the spare key he managed to "borrow" from Steve's bunch of keys when he wasn't looking. After inviting himself in, he scanned the downstairs area but his partner was nowhere to be found. That was until he heard someone turning on a shower in the bathroom upstairs.

Now that he was reassured that everything was alright and everyone was alive, except for the man lying in the alley who was waiting for them, he moved to the kitchen to make himself and Steve a mug of fresh coffee and impatiently had been waiting for Steve to grace him with his presence.

Ten minutes later, already dressed Steve ran down the stairs confused after smelling the coffee in the air. To his surprise, when he stepped into the kitchen, Danny was leaning on the kitchen counter, sipping coffee from his mug.

"Danny... What are you doing here?" Steve sounded like it was impossible for Danny to be standing in his kitchen, and yet, there he was.

"Good morning to you too. Now that you're finally here, can you, please, tell me, why you didn't pick up your phone when I called you?"

"Maybe because I was showering?" Steve answered as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Twenty minutes ago?" Danny raised an eyebrow.

"I was swimming and believe it or not, I don't have the phone on me when I'm swimming." Steve reasoned.

"Right. And tell me what you were doing fifty minutes ago when Chin called? You know what? Don't even say it because you were swimming." Danny sighed, putting down his coffee.

"I was." Steve shrugged and took his coffee to take a sip. "So anyway, what are you doing here?"

"I'm here, because we have a case. Which you would know about if you picked your ph-" Danny paused in the middle of a sentence as he watched Steve making a face after taking a sip of the coffee. "Hey, you okay?" Steve's eyes wandered over and froze upon the fridge. Danny noticed it right away and realized what was going to happen. "Are you serious? How can you put something like that in the coffee!" He blamed Steve. "You know what?" Danny raised both his hands in surrender. "You're disgusting and I'm going to wait for you in the car. Just hurry up."

Smile on Steve's face grew as Danny left him on his own, not wanting to see how he "jeopardized" Danny's excellent coffee with a spoon of butter.

...

When Steve and Danny arrived on the crime scene, it had already been full of Honolulu Police Department officers, Crime Scene Unit members, and there was a small curious crowd gathering behind the police tape.

"I'm telling you one last time. It is an act of barbarism!" Danny shouted from behind Steve when he had not responded to him. He's been giving him one of his talks all the way to the crime scene about how coffee and butter don't mix. Little did Danny know that Steve turned off his receiver right after they drove off. Arguing with Danny was useless as he always had to have the last word.

After not getting a response, Danny seemed to drop the subject as they were making their way to the victim that had already been examined by Dr. Max Bergman, the Chief Medical Examiner.

"'Morning, Max. What do we have?" Danny greeted the doctor and moved to look at the body.

"Good morning to you too, Detective. Commander." Max stood up and greeted them in response before he informed them on what he had found out. "Male, white, in his thirties. No ID. Time of death around midnight but I'll be able to give you better numbers after the further examination."

"How about the cause of death?" Steve piped in to the conversation. Danny gave him a look of disapproval.

"I was going to get to that." He squatted down and pointed at the victim's chest. "The cause of death was a single gunshot wound right to his chest. I'm positive that it went right through his heart but there's no exit wound. As soon as I extract the bullet, I'll send it to the lab. But there's more. I believe this is not the primal crime scene considering that there's small amount of blood on the ground and the marks on his body indicating that after getting shot he fell down face first. He had been moved." Max informed them

"Thanks, Max." Steve wanted to turn around and find Chin to know if anyone had witnessed anything strange at night.

"Wait a second, Commander!" Max called out, wanting to share last piece of the evidence he found. He stood up and walked around the body only to squat down on the opposite side. He picked up the victim's right arm and carefully rolled up the sleeve to uncover the forearm. "I found a tattoo on the inner side of his forearm. I already asked Lieutenant Kelly to send it to Officer Kalakaua." He turned the arm a little, so Detective Williams and Commander McGarrett could see the inked picture better. They didn't expect to see what they did. "I think he was in the Navy." Max said as they kept looking at the tattooed anchor and eagle holding a trident and a shotgun in his claws. There were two options: either he was a big fan of United States Navy SEALs or he was one of them. If it was the latter though, things might get personal for Steve as he himself was a Navy SEAL.

...

A half an hour later, Chin joined Kono at the Headquarters and together they had already been standing by the smart table in silence, uploading and sorting the found information and still in search of another leads. Steve and Danny arrived fifteen minutes later. Both of them were quietly walking side by side as they walked into the briefing room.

"Tell me you got something, Kono." Steve broke the silence as he stopped by Kono's right side next to the table, facing Danny who stopped to stand next to the other cousin.

"Well, first, I got an ID." She pulled up the photo on a monitor and gave Steve a look that confirmed what he had been thinking. "His name is Jackson Abbott, 33, and he is a Navy Lieutenant." Everyone looked sympathetically at Steve who, they knew, had probably taken this as seriously as an attack on his own family. "His older brother, Jeremy Abbott, is a Navy SEAL, currently deployed in the Middle East. Jackson is divorced, no children. His mother lives fifteen minutes from here." Kono continued. "And looks like this runs in the family because his father was a Captain. He died two years ago of a heart attack. His name's-"

"John Abbott." Steve suddenly blurted out, not giving Kono a chance to finish her sentence. Everyone stood there surprised that he knew the name.

"Yes, John Abbott. How do you know?" Kono said at the same time as Danny asked: "Do you know him?"

Steve had been thinking about it for a while, remembering where he knew that name from.

"The last time I've heard about him, he was a close friend of Joe White." Steve said, the name of the man leaving a bitter taste in his mouth as he still had not forgiven him the betrayal. "All I know is that they pulled off some pretty crazy stunts back in the days."

"How much do you think Joe knows about John and his family?" Danny inquired.

"Joe definitely knows more than he says he knows." Chin answered when he saw that Steve had declined to talk about Joe White anymore.

"Alright, anything else? Someone popped up as a possible suspect?" Danny prompted, trying to lead the conversation off the subject as he noticed that it had made Steve slightly uncomfortable.

"Nothing yet. You might want to talk to the parents." Kono addressed to the Commander.

"Sounds good. Danny and I will go talk to the parents. Chin, you pay a visit the ex-wife. Kono, go through the camera footage from the area, see if there's something to hold on to. Hopefully we will find the original crime scene soon." Steve gave an order. "And let me know when you get the word from ballistics on the bullet." Steve ordered before he walked out of the room with Danny behind him.

...

Steve and Danny were leaving Mrs. Abbott's house when they got a word from the ballistics. The 9mm bullet extracted from Navy Lieutenant Jackson Abbott came from a gun he owned. It had not been the result they had been hoping for but they would not up on finding the justice for the man. Steve promised his mother that he would find the man behind the murder of her son, although he knew that making promises like that is a risk. But sometimes one could not help it when it reached close to home, the thoughts of his best friend Freddie appearing in his mind.

"Maybe we could ask Joe, you know, he might know something." Danny stated. "Are you even listening to me?" Danny raised his voice as his partner kept walking without a word to the car. "Stop giving me a silent treatment! I didn't do anything to you!" He shook his head at Steve's antics as he opened the door, sat behind the wheel, waiting for Danny to join him.

"What do you think you'll achieve with this, Danny?" Steve simply asked as Danny closed the door behind him.

"Well, I think that maybe he knows something. Even the smallest details could help. And I see in what desperate need of details you are now. Details that will help us get the monster who did this behind bars. Now tell me you don't want any of this." Danny reasoned and Steve found pieces of truth behind his words. When he didn't say anything, Danny assumed that Steve finally agreed to what he had been insinuating. "Good. But if you decide you don't want to go in, you can stay in the car." Danny finished as Steve drove off toward Joe White's house.


	4. Ch 4: Once a Fighter, Always a Fighter

**Hello!**

 **I know I haven'** **t been active for more than 4 months. But the university life is just sooo exhausting. Yesterday was the last day of the winter semester and the only thing I** **'** **d like to do for the next two weeks is... Yes! I want to sleep... Sadly, I can** **'t because there are so many things that need to be done (it's Christmas time again, yay!).** **But before that I made myself a promise - to update this story.**

 **It** **'** **s getting a little twisted. Blame it on me.**

 **So, again, I** **'** **d be more than happy if you shared your opinion on the chapter(s). It would be easier to decide for me which way to go then. Tell me what you like, what you hate, I take everything. Reviews are very welcome.**

 **Well, now I** **'** **ll leave to it.**

 **And before I forget - Merry Christmas to everyone!**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Chapter 4: Once a Fighter, Always a Fighter**

 _4 years ago_

A young woman had been lying motionless in the military hospital bed for a few days. The only proof of her being in the world of living was never ending beeping of various machines that had been helping her to get through the injuries she suffered almost a week ago. The doctors' prognosis was not looking bright, she died _twice_ on the operating table, after all. Despite the hopeless hope, it looked like she decided to fight the fortune. Maybe it was not her time yet, as the medical team managed to bring her back from dead the second time and keep her here for all those days.

On the ninth day she was woken from medically induced coma, as the results had shown that her condition was getting better step by step. Kind of a miraculous case, the hospital staff thought, although they knew that wounded people who entered their premises were fighters, and sometimes they fought the death itself and came back victorious.

She slowly opened her eyes and took in her surroundings. A man and a woman in white coats were standing by her right side. Their lips were moving, but she did not hear a word. The man came closer as they heard that the machine started to beep much faster than before.

"... breathe, okay? Just take a _deep_ breath. Slowly. In and out." He motioned.

"Don't worry, you're safe. Can you hear me? You'll be _okay_." Said the other one.

After a while she calmed down and got her breathing under control. Both her vision and hearing became clearer after that. She took a moment to look around her and observe everything a little further. First thing she noticed were light green walls. The hate for the color, she had associated with hospitals, was immense. She sighed, feeling tired even from a small exploration like that.

She turned toward the two doctors. The man had a visible scar on his forehead, suggesting he was in a battle or two. Though the petite redhead by his side didn't look like she was a soldier. But looks could be deceiving, as strangers would not say that she was in a military herself.

"Hey there." The man greeted the now calm woman that had woken up minutes ago. Knowing he got the full attention of the patient, he continued. "You gave us quite a _scare_ back in the OR, but you fought bravely. Now, I _don't_ want to tire you with twenty questions, so let's do only two. Would that be _okay_ with you?" He politely smiled.

She looked at him, knowing what kinds of questions he was about to shoot at her. _'Shoot. I think there was enough of that recently._ ' The wave of the last encounter with flying bullets still hadn't fully hit her. But she recalled bits and pieces. The noise, bullets flying around her, pain... Trying to hide her emotions she smirked, looking the good-looking doctor right in the eye. "Well, I think it makes it only _one_ more question now." Both doctors laughed, and the still smiling man sighed after a moment, admitting her win.

"Okay, that's only fair. It's great to hear you still can speak sarcasm. But you're _not_ gonna fool me. I've had patients like you who were hiding behind the witty puns. Be _honest_ with me, alright?"

"Yes, _sir_." She said in a serious voice, or at least she tried to make it sound serious. She even would have saluted him, proving she felt alright, but her body had a different opinion, as her arm wouldn't move a bit. It was only then that she noticed it was in the white cast. Now the reality had finally caught up with her. Looking at her arm, she suddenly remembered what happened to it. One by one she had remembered injuries she had suffered as she was looking all over her body.

She didn't have time to realize that the tears started gathering up in her eyes as another wave hit her. Her brothers and sister who had been by her side for years were now absent and she only could guess where they were. The only thoughts that had crossed her mind were that she _failed_ them. The pain inside had been growing faster now, but thankfully, the female doctor pulled her attention back to them.

The doctors, noticing that she's in a stress, decided to give her space, and not to bother her with questions as it was obvious what she had been going through at that moment. No words needed to be spoken to see that she was in miserable state.

The redhead spoke up. "Your _friends_ were here by your side _every_ day for a week. They got pulled out in the morning, but don't worry, they will come back." She tried to give the patient's mind a little break by saying that she's not alone. And it had the effect she hoped for as the pair of glassy blue eyes landed on her.

"They are alive?" She asked confused. She thought that...

"Very much alive, yes." The redhead nodded and both doctors noticed the relief in the lying woman's features. "Anyway, Lieutenant Rayfield says hello and that she'll be back soon to, and I quote, _kick_ your lazy butt out of the bed." She smiled sheepishly after delivering the message.

The woman on the bad would have laughed if it wasn't so painfully hard, so she stayed with smiling this time. "We should let you rest for now. We'll be back later." The redhead finished, before turning on her heel and leaving the patient's room.

"Welcome back to the land of living, Captain Moore." The scarred doctor added right before he followed the young female and left her alone with her thoughts. Not long after they had disappeared her mind quieted down as she fell asleep again.

When she woke up the next time, she saw a silhouette sitting by the side of her hospital bad. But it was not who she expected it to be. She was looking for a woman but the person, who had been unwaveringly staring at her, was a man. He was older and bald, and it took her a while to recognize him. She had heard about him more than she had ever wished to know. But the question that came to Nick was, what the hell was he doing there? But only thing she could do was to stare back at him as she had nothing to say to him.

"It's good to see you alive, kid." He acknowledged her presence. "I must admit I had the feeling you weren't gonna pull through but guess I was _wrong_." He paused for a second to wait if she wanted to join the conversation. "I _can't_ imagine what you've been going through. It's a miracle that-"

"I'm sorry, Commander White, but _is_ there a reason behind your visit?" She quietly interrupted him, not seeing a reason why he should have continued in this _meaningless_ speech. She was never a type who craved for words of sympathy. And whether it would have been a doctor or even president, she wasn't in a mood for this.

"So, you know who I am?" Commander White asked curiously. He looked interested in what she had heard.

"I've heard about you a word or two. I'd say your reputation precedes you." She answered plainly. And then an idea came up in her mind and as it did she cursed under her breath. "I think I figured it out. You got me _out_ of there, didn't you? That's why you are sitting here... waiting for a _'thank you'_ , maybe?" Getting more irritated by his unwelcome presence, she blurted out. The words that came out might have sounded a little hostile and they both noticed it. Hopefully he though it's because she's tired of talking, but in reality, she just wanted him to leave. Not to get into another unwanted conversation, she played it on the exhaustion. And it was not an act, she still hadn't been her old healthy self. "Nothing personal, sir, but maybe it's for the best that you _leave_." Though she said it was nothing personal, her discomfort hidden behind his presence was indeed personal.

"My _men_ were asking about you and I just came to see for myself how you're doing. And as I see you're getting better, so that's a good sign. They'll be relieved to know you we'll be back on your feet in no time." After explaining his reason behind the visit, he stood up, his eyes not leaving her. "You know, you remind me of someone I knew long time ago." He smiled at the memories that flooded his head. "Get well soon, _Captain_." He wished her best and went to leave the room.

She hesitated for a moment, but despite everything that was going on, before he reached the door, the sincere "thank you, Commander" came out of her mouth.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _Present_

"Oh, _how_ did we get here, Joe?" She asked herself, expecting no answer, as she was standing in the middle of the living room of Commander White's house.

It was late morning when she received the message containing Joe's home address. She replied with simple _"thank you"_ and five minutes later she had already been sitting in the rental car driving through the city streets. _Thanks_ to the typical midday traffic, she made it in less than half an hour. She left the car one block away from the house, as she did not want to raise any suspicion. She walked on foot down the street, taking in the local atmosphere. It looked like a quiet neighborhood, and probably people here knew each other well, or in Joe's case, they knew what he wanted them to know.

One second, she was walking, and the next, there was no sign of her being on the street, as she disappeared in between the trees that had been surrounding the house with the number she had been looking for. For her surprise, the door leading to backyard were not locked. She shrugged and stepped into the house. From outside it did not seem to be big, but inside was spacious. Quite cozy house, yet it has been missing the personal touch. For an uninterested eye, there was no indication to who could have been possibly living in here. No distinct photographs, everything was tidied up. The though of Joe retiring from Navy and becoming the _stay-at-home-commander_ sounded so absurd that it made her smile.

After clearing the whole house, not finding any clue on Joe's whereabouts, she found herself standing in the middle of the living room, wondering what was her next step going to be.

The truth was, nothing came to her mind after she had recalled the last communication with the missing man. She had called him four days before her arrival to the Islands for the first time in years. There was nothing that would have proved something was wrong. Even not so long ago, he sent her the name of the bar where they were supposed to meet. And since then, there had been no sign of his presence. " _Should_ I be surprised, though?" The question that came out, after remembering their not so long history, left a bitter taste on her tongue.

Only moments after she had drowned in the past, there could be heard footsteps. By the sound of the creaking wood that was coming from behind the front door, she assumed she had a visitor, and as always, her guts were telling her that it was not the person she had been looking for.

The movement on the porch died down, only to be replaced by three knocks on the wooden door. The knocking continued after a few seconds. She did not pay any attention to the stranger at the door, thinking, that he would leave after receiving no answer from inside. But the words that followed the knocking made her stop in her searching and look the way, where the unknown person had been standing.

"Joe, I know you're _there_." The man with an accent began. When there was no answer, he continued. "Look Joe, you have all the reasons to keep the door closed, but we could really use your help."

Now she had been fully paying the attention to the man at the front door. He seemed to know Joe, that was not strange. Many people knew him. What alarmed her was the possible meaning behind _'all the reasons to keep the door closed'_. Could it be the cause of Joe's sudden disappearance? Who was this guy? But then the line of her thoughts got interrupted again with a deep sight. Finally, he decided to give up...? Or maybe not.

"I apologize for my _stupid_ partner, I really do, I know how irrational he can be, but we got a case and we might use your help." If the man sounded a little more desperate, it would make her open the door. But then his words hit her. He might be a police officer. She backed off, wanting to have nothing do with police right now, as it would not help her cause.

She looked around, deciding if there was a place where she could find something useful to get her closer to knowing about Joe White's whereabouts. Only the cabinets in the kitchen area came to her mind, so after briefly looking into them, searching for anything helpful, she would flee that place, not wanting to lose any more time.

Halfway back from the kitchen she came to an abrupt stop when she heard noise coming from the same place where the unwanted visitor had been standing recently. Red lights lighted up in her head again, and immediately she was on alert, carefully listening to whatever that was going on at the porch. Obviously, he didn't leave. What's more, someone else joined him. "There goes the _luck_ …" She sighed, continuing in her searching, not wasting any second.

"...Irrational? Who is _irrational_? And what the _hell_ you think you're doing, Danny?" A new voice piped in. New, yet somehow not unknown to her. The unsettling feeling of familiarity sent shivers down her spine and she realized it would be about the right time to sneak out of the house, before anyone else, especially the two strangers, would find out about her illegitimate entry. The last thing she needed right now, were the cops asking the questions about her intentions and she had no interest in answering any of them.

The muffled response, that she couldn't understand, made her shake off the strange feeling and get back to her alert mode.

"When did you learn how to pick locks?" The newcomer asked the other man, Danny, she noticed, was his name, who was determined to unlock the door. "And you say I'm irrational? What is it that you're doing right now? Joe's probably grocery shopping, for all you know." He suggested and from the tone of his voice she had been almost sure that he didn't want to be there.

Clearly not pleased by the ongoing conversation, she looked one last time to the door. But before she could have turned around and go to the back exit, the key lock popped and the door almost immediately opened. Her gaze met with a tall dark-haired man that was standing in the doorway. Seeing an intruder in the house, without hesitation he reached for his weapon, attached to his hip.

Before he got the chance to shout at her to stop moving, she turned on the heel and in the blink of an eye disappeared from his line of sight, managing turn over a cupboard in the process, to slow down the armed man. Knowing he would follow her, she ran, having no need to look back over her shoulder to be sure she was right.

She was heading to the back door and right after it flew open, she was welcomed by a shorter blond-haired man who was running to her. She realized, it must have been the other man from the porch. He must have run around the house which gave him time to arrive with his weapon drawn. As he was approaching, he raised the gun to aim at the running woman.

" _Stay_ where you are!" He shouted, aiming at the target. " _Don't_ move!"

And she listened to him. In a matter of milliseconds, she calculated her options. First was to get caught and lose valuable time. The second one was to get killed and leave her mission unfinished. _"Even better."_ She would not be satisfied with those outcomes, and that quickly made her to make up her mind.

After a second she started to move again, not running away, but stepping closer to the man in front of her. The situation she was in was nowhere near the ideal, and the moment of surprise was limited. But she could go with limited.

As the gun was so close that it was almost touching her chest, she made an effort to disarm the man. The look on his face, when she grabbed his wrist and twisted it the painful way, confirmed that he hadn't been expecting this kind of action, or to be more precise, the strength hidden behind the act. She easily took his weapon and to prevent any other confrontation with the man, with a punch in to the gut, followed by the blow to the back of the head with his own gun, as he had been bent over clutching his abdomen, she knocked him unconscious.

With no other obstacle in her way, she sprinted away as fast as her body and mind allowed her, keeping in mind the other man, who followed her from the front porch. By the time she turned around the corner of the house, he ran out of the back door.

When she was sure after five minutes long marathon that she hadn't been followed anymore, heavily breathing she slowed down to quick walking and made her way to her car, trying not to raise any suspicion.

All the way back to the hotel, she had been thinking about the unexpected turn of events. It was not her intention to hurt anybody, but exaggeratedly, very often desperate times call for desperate measures. Luckily for the knocked out man, she knew how to handle herself in a fight. If she wanted him dead, he would be. She made sure he came out of it alright, although the headache would be killing him later. _'So far so good.'_


	5. Ch 5: Hit & Run

**I do not own anything except my OC and the plot of the story.**

 **xxxxx**

 **Chapter 5: Hit & Run**

Danny had been holding an icepack against the back of his head for about half an hour, since they left the Queen's Medical Centre. After finding him unconscious on the ground in the backyard of Joe White's house, Steve immediately forgot about following the unknown woman and kneeled down next to the motionless body of his partner. Steve insisted that Danny would get a proper check-up by a real doctor, as he didn't like the state the blond man was in after waking up.

The drive to the hospital was quiet. Steve had been lost in thoughts about the unexpected company and wondered who the person, he had the bitter honor to meet, was. Was she a burglar? That was highly unlikely due to the fact that it happened in the broad daylight and she did not show any signs that Joe's possessions were interesting to her. 'Maybe she knew Joe.' Steve mused. Maybe she got scared and had the urge to run away, although it had been clear that they were on the good side as both their badges were attached to their belts in an easily visible place. What haunted him the most, was the velocity of her disappearance and in the process leaving behind the unconscious body of his partner. This event made him wonder, if they met her accidentally or if there's more to it.

His wandering mind had prepared for him a new scenario, related to the deeper meaning of the stranger's presence in Joe White's house. There was only one name that popped up and immediately he wished it was just a bad dream. What if it all had been Wo Fat's doing? There had been silence for a few months, no one heard about him. And this could be another one of his wicked games. But what would be her purpose in all of this then? It was definitely something he would need to figure out soon. It might be nothing serious, yet it might wreak havoc in the city of Honolulu, in the heart of his ohana. And he was not going to risk either of those possibilities.

Breaking almost all the city speed limits, he was passing the cars one after another, occasionally looking the way of the passenger seat, making sure there were no serious problems with his partner.

Danny, on the other hand, could not concentrate much on anything, as the throbbing pain had been building in the back of his head and extending. His thoughts were shattered, his surroundings did not make any sense. His usual self had been rammed somewhere deep inside by the hand of the intruder who he ran into in the backyard. The bits and pieces slowly started to fit together, and the clearer image he got, the more his head hurt.

The deep groan made Steve send the worried look his partner's way.

"Just a few more minutes, Danny, hold on." Steve reassured him, but it was clear that Danny paid little to no attention to him.

In the hospital the doctor in the ER confirmed Steve's suspicion. Danny was diagnosed with a moderate concussion. He had been advised to take it easy the next few days and Steve had been instructed, again, to watch out for the symptoms. If there was anything out of ordinary, he should bring Danny immediately back to the hospital.

To comply with the doctor's orders, Steve drove back from the Queen's straight to his house. He was not letting Danny on his own, and Danny, although he argued with Steve, he had been thankful for letting him stay. His miserable state had been multiplied by the loss of his gun which he was probably never going to hear about again, unless it would be involved in some sort of crime.

"I called Chin, told him what happened. He's on it." Steve came back from upstairs after the call to the Headquarters, informing everyone about the recent events and taking the rest of the day off, and sat down on the recliner, opposite to the coach where Danny had been lying the last ten minutes.

"Do you have an idea who she might be?" Danny spoke up after the deafening silence set upon them. He caught something in Steve's expression, clearly it must have been bothering him much, whatever it was.

"Maybe it's nothing." Steve shrugged and shook of the thoughts.

"What is it, Steven? I might have concussion, but I'm _not_ an idiot." He argued.

"Just a though came to my mind." Knowing his partner would not stop with questions, he continued. "I have a feeling, this might be connected to Wo Fat." He admitted.

"How?" Any other day it might have been easy for Danny to figure out what Steve had meant, but this was way beyond an ordinary day.

"Yeah, well, here's the fact that she had been in Joe's house and I don't think she was there to steal from him. And I can't forget to mention that she knocked you out and disappeared before I ran out of the back door. It was just a matter of seconds." Steve recalled the event and still could not believe it all had happened so fast.

"She must be _extraordinary_. One second she was there, and the other she wasn't." He threw his hands around, imitating a disappearance.

"Most likely because you didn't know about yourself a few moments after you met her." Steve pinpointed the obvious.

Danny sent a death glare his partner's way, not liking the repeating image of a woman taking him out in the blink of an eye. He did not know what had hit him until it was too late and that feeling had been unsettling. It made him realize how close he was to leaving his beloved daughter and his ohana.

Steve noticed that Danny's expression had darkened a little. "We _will_ find her, Danny, we will." He made the promise.

Danny nodded, the sleep slowly taking over him, as the medication finally kicked in.

Steve had been watching his partner for a while, trying to figure out a way how to speed up the process of finding the attacker. Even though she was a woman, he had the urge to make her rue the day she was born. But firstly, they needed to find her.

 **xxxxx**

For what seemed like a lifetime, Nick had been standing by the window, arms crossed on her chest, her eyes never leaving the gun that was lying on the bed of her hotel room, exactly on the spot where she placed it right after the arrival from her small expedition. It was supposed to be easy, she used to tell herself, until one day she accepted the fact that the easy could turn opposite in the blink of an eye.

Any minute there might be visitors knocking on her door with an entry ram, for all she knew. And the fact that she was in possession of a stolen gun that obviously belonged to a police officer did not make her happy at all. She had replayed the events again and again, trying to reassure herself she did not have other choice. She concluded that throwing it away in the process of running had not been an option, or more specifically, the right option.

The question what to do next never left her mind. The sooner she figured out the next step, the better. When the plan A crashed the first night she had been in the town, she had relied on the plan B which burned down to ashes two hour ago. After the unexpected morning affair, she had to continue in the alphabet. And quickly.

Checking out of the hotel and leaving the gun behind did not seem like a proper way of getting rid of a problem. And neither did throwing it away. God knows who could put their hands on it. She could not risk the lives of innocent people. At the idea of returning it to its owner she merely shook her head, as it was not her intention to literally get her head blown off after handing the stolen goods off to its rightful owner.

The silence in the bedroom was unexpectedly interrupted by a chime of a phone, indicating a new message had been received. She pulled the phone out of her back pocket and moved from the window to sit at the end of the bed. She read the message, smiling at the words filled with genuine concern that were written on the screen: _"Any luck? Or shall I rather send the cavalry? You know, just to be sure."_ It had never ceased to amaze her how worried Riley was whenever she had found herself separated from her. It is always kind of hard to get used to it when they had spent years fighting side by side. In few seconds she hit the send button to reply with simple _"no need, I got it"_ when in reality she did not really have it under the control. But then a new idea appeared in her head.

She shook it off almost immediately at first, but on second thought she might get somewhere. Anything in her situation could be classified as a step forward. Why not to walk right into the lion's den. She sighed reaching for the gun and getting up to set things in motion.

Later in the afternoon Nick found herself standing in front of the house she had remembered from her past. The memories of her last vacation here on Island flooded her mind with her every step closer to the front door. Knocking on the wooden door and waiting for answer, she hoped that the house had not change the owner. Not long after her arrival, there was someone going to open the door. Third time's a charm. She encouraged herself.

The door opened and a person with a friendly smile on the lips appeared, taking Nick a little bit by surprise when she recognized the familiar features that were in front of her.


	6. Ch 6: Brave Ones Don't Run

**Hello, everyone!**

 **I know it's been a long time (again). And I'm sorry.**

 **I just had some internal fight with myself over this story, and I don't know if it's worth it to continue. I mean, I'd love to but… I don't know. University life is taking a lot from me. (I haven't had a personal life before, but here I found out that it is possible to fall even further down. Rock bottom 2.0… Yes, it is real.)**

 **So, I hoped you would help me decide where to go, what to do with the story. Is it worth it? Should I spend the sleepless nights writing instead of turning around in bed like an idiot?**

 **I'm waiting for your response, PM or comments, whatever suits you better.**

 **Tell me whatever, what you like, what you would like, what you don't. Just anything.**

 **Help a sister out, please. 😊**

 **Thank you.**

 **Love you.**

 **Bless you.**

 **And to the chapter 6, here it is.**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Chapter 6: The Brave Ones Don't Run**

The door opened and a person with a friendly smile appeared, taking Nick a little bit by surprise when she recognized the familiar features that were in front of her.

"Hello…" The older native woman kindly greeted the visitor. She frowned, trying to place the new face somewhere with no luck, although she had the feeling she had met the young woman in the past. "May I help you?"

"Mrs. Lukela, it's good to see you." Nick genuinely smiled, letting the other side know she came in peace. "I don't know if you remember me, but long time ago, you and your husband helped me. A lot…" She reminded the woman, recalling the time she spent at this place. Her face brightened when the realization hit her. The face might slightly change and age in that decade, but the voice instantly reminded the woman of a young teenager who once spent some time in their household. She heard the same emotions now as she did before. Sadness, even bits of desperation, but a slight hope too.

"Nikole, is that you?" Nick simply nodded and the woman's eyes lighted up upon seeing the once lost child who, evidently, grew up to be a nice young lady. "We thought we would never see you again…" Mrs. Lukela shook her head, not believing who was standing on her porch. "How have you been? Quickly, come inside, you have to tell me everything." The woman rushed her inside, not wasting any minute.

Still not believing who showed up at the front door, she led the guest to the living room, while she herself went to the kitchen to prepare something to drink. "Make yourself home, dear."

" _Home_." Nick silently repeated the word after Mrs. Lukela disappeared, the smile never leaving her face. The places where she came from, places where she had been, they had never felt like home. The feeling of not having a place in the world where she would feel safe and loved had been often suffocating her. The life before Hawaii had not been nice to her, and when the tough times came, she survived by hanging on to the vision that maybe one day she would get the chance to find a place to call home. And maybe welcome some lost being the same way the Lukela's did now and many years ago.

But it was then. Before the thought of visiting Hawaiian Islands crossed her mind. Before her best friend ended up in a puddle of blood in the alley. Before she was left alone in this world. Before she put her everything into becoming who she decided she wanted to be. And there was no home for a person like that anymore. And she did not care about it. Her goal was clear. And there was no place left for home.

"Here you go." Mrs. Lukela walked out of the kitchen, holding a tray with one cup of coffee for herself and one cup of green tea for the guest. Nick smiled at the fact that after all those years the older woman remembered that she preferred tea over anything in any kind of weather.

"Duke will be home soon, but I'm afraid I'm too curious…" She laughed, wanting nothing more than to hear the story Nick arrived with. "Tell me, what have you been up to since the last time we saw you? It's been a long time…" Mrs. Lukela started the conversation right after handing over the drink and sitting in a comfortable armchair across the couch where Nick had been seated.

Nick took a sip of the tea, immediately the flavor hit her like a wave and the memories started flooding her mind. "I honestly don't know where to start." Nick sighed, thinking about the best way to paint the picture of her life in the last decade.

"Well, let's take it from the beginning. Me, my husband, and everyone else, we were worried that something bad happened after you stopped writing us letters. What happened?" Mrs. Lukela prompted her to speak. "You know, I still have them upstairs in the drawer."

Nick was surprised once more after the revealing fact that her letters were after so many years still kept by their recipient. "You do, huh?" She laughed, going over what she should say next in her head. But there was really no use in stalling. Although she did not fully understand why her mind thought that visiting the Lukela's house was a right idea, she was happy that she stopped by. Maybe something good would come out of it, after her miserable last few days. But deep down, unbeknownst to her, she was looking for a moment of comfort, a safe place. The war and the losses had changed her in many ways and she had made peace with the constant running, never slowing for a bit. And yet, she had slowed down, subconsciously yearning after the feeling of being in a safe place. And in that house, with the Lukela's she felt exactly that. "The simple version is that I joined Army." Nick sighed.

Saying that Mrs. Lukela was surprised was underestimated. "And the more complex version?" The Hawaiian woman poked deeper after shaking off the uneasy feeling crawling up her spine. She knew something must have happened out there somewhere.

"After I enlisted I didn't really feel like I need to bury you in my meaningless letters." Before the older woman could protest, she continued. "But it was then. I was feeling a little down that time. With everything going on at home… trying to keep up with everything… it was hard. But I found my way out, found some great friends along the way, too." She blurted out in one breath, trying to rationally defend her behavior, but then she realized that what she was saying was not exactly the truth. The truth lay somewhere else. The truth would be to talk about her feelings, and she does not do that. "Looking back, I know I shouldn't have stopped writing. I'm sorry." She genuinely apologized, hoping it would make the woman feel better about it. Or maybe herself?

"Oh, my dear Nikole." Mrs. Lukela went over to sit beside Nick. "You don't have to feel like you'd be bothering us with your letter or if you'd come to visit. You're _ohana_. And it means –"

"Nobody stays behind or left forgotten." Nick finished the sentence, using the line from one of her favorite movies she though she had buried somewhere in the past. Remembering it made her feel like a young innocent girl she once was.

"Yes, that might work too." Mrs. Lukela laughed and hugged her guest, a nice young woman, whom she met when she was in her teenage years, struggling after the tragic death of her best friend she offered her a place to stay. A place where she could feel safe.

Before they could continue catching up, the front door opened. The movement in the hall caught both women's attention. "I'm home." The man said at the same moment Mrs. Lukela shouted over-happily: "In the living room."

Upon hearing the hushed voices in the living room, the older native man in blue police uniform walked over only to be met by his lovely wife and a guest. Mrs. Lukela stood up and kissed her husband. "Welcome home, dear." She smiled. "And we have a visitor."

Nick stood up from the couch and turned around to face the newcomer. "Aloha." She greeted Duke. She stood there for a moment, not really knowing what to do, although she had everything figured out even before she stepped into this house. The plan in her head and the execution of said plan was supposed to go hand in hand, no digression. She should have known that she would need to count with more variables. She was dealing with an ordinary life that often brought more surprises than any military mission.

She was as unsure of what to do as her old self was. And it had been upsetting her, that she did not know where these feelings were coming from. Standing in the same place as before, in the middle of living room leaning slightly on the grey couch, was not helping her at all either. Should she shake his hand? Should she hug him?

She got the answer for her dilemma when, in a matter of seconds, she found herself being embraced by two arms that belonged to Sergeant Lukela. They had been standing there in a strong hug for a good minute, before Nick started to feel like she had a lump in her throat and the tears in her eyes threatened to break out. She did not want to break the hug but at the same time, she did not want to fall apart, because it is not what a person like her did. Falling apart, breaking to million pieces, has not been in her dictionary for a very long time.

Breaking the hug, she took a deep breath, preparing herself for the inevitable that was about to come.

"I can't believe what I'm seeing now." Sergeant Lukela noted, still holding Nick at arm's length while looking over at his wife, searching for confirmation that he is not dreaming. She nodded to her husband, understanding the silent question, and broke into tears upon seeing the scene in front of her.

"Surprise!" Nick squealed.

"It is, indeed, a surprise." Duke laughed. "It's been a long time. You better stay for dinner. I'm sure there's a lot to catch up on." He said with an adamant seriousness in his voice. But the smile was back instantly.

"I wouldn't turn down an offer like that. I haven't had a homecooked Hawaiian dinner in ages." Nick admitted and followed Mrs. Lukela, who asked her to help in the kitchen with dinner, while her husband went upstairs to change into something more comfortable.

Time passed and both women were deep in conversation about cooking. When Nick admitted it was not her strong suit, she got a detailed lecture of how to cook various Hawaiian meals. It's better to imagine 'the easiest' under the term 'various'.

"But it's not that bad." She tried to reason when she felt like a child, being told what to do and how. "I mean, I would survive with my cooking… but I'm sure Gordon Ramsay would happily ban me from entering kitchen ever again. It's far from magnificent." They both laughed.

"Oh, please. No one cares what he would have to say. The main thing is that you should do it for yourself first, for your own joy." The wise woman advised. "And maybe for some handsome man." She added and winked.

Nick thankfully released the breath she did not know she was holding when the phone ring cut their conversation right there. She knew the topic of their conversation was about to change the direction. Men were recently not her favorite thing to talk about. One left her hanging, one was lying unconscious on the ground at her feet, another one, she was sure, was angry and wanted her to pay for that. And those were _only_ three men in last couple of days. Talking about men before them was whole 'nother story.

It turned out that the call was for Duke and came in as he was descending the stairs to join the conversation in the kitchen. He took it to the secluded study room while the conversation between two women with occasional laughing continued.

Half an hour later, the dinner was almost ready. While Mrs. Lukela had been cleaning the counter, Nick had been washing used dishes. The talking had died down and she enjoyed the peaceful silence and amazing smell coming from the oven. It felt unreal. As she had been living a life of someone else. For those few moments her mind suppressed her worries and problems. There has been only an unfamiliar to her feeling of easiness.

It was only until the blade of the knife she was washing reminded her of the reality. Joe White is nowhere to be found and she got her lucky self into trouble with cops. Not to mention the taken gun had been quietly lying at the bottom of her handbag that was still sitting on the couch in the living room. Waiting to be returned.

She hissed, pressing on the small cut. Thankfully, Mrs. Lukela had not noticed she had injured herself. She had been paying attention to her husband who had come out of the study room, finally ready to join them.

Mrs. Lukela instantly noticed her husband was a little worse for wear. She shook her head, knowing that her husband often took his work home and this day was no exception. "Is everything alright?" She asked him kindly.

"Don't worry about it. It's just crazier out there today than usually." Duke commented on the situation. "But at least the 5-0 just caught the man behind the murder of the Naval officer, even if they are man down today." He continued quietly, not revealing any closer details. Usually he shared his day with his wife, but he always made sure not to disrupt her peaceful mind with unnecessary details.

"What do you mean a man down? Is someone hurt?" Mrs. Lukela turned to her husband. She knew every member of the governor's task force personally and she liked all of them, in her eyes they were almost like her children. But she knew they all were great people, loyal, brave, willing to sacrifice anything to keep the islands and people safe from any kind of danger. Hearing that one of them is hurt made her worry. They were all tough and strong, and it made her wonder what force could possibly be the cause of the reason why the task force worked without one man. She hoped it had only been a flu or cold, but nothing serious.

The slight change of Mrs. Lukela tone made Nick snap out of her mind as she had zoned out for a moment. Not turning around, she listened to what was going on behind her back.

"Detective Williams will be out of action for a while due to a concussion." Duke stated, and Nick felt something shift in her. "But he will be okay." He added.

"What happened?" Mrs. Lukela asked, feeling sorry for the detective and hoping he would be back to full health soon.

Duke had no reason to keep that information from her. They were all ohana.

And Nick, the dreadful feeling expanded as she was almost sure that she already knew the answer. She was the answer, after all. _She_ happened.

"Someone got to him, outpowered him, and knocked him out while he was looking for leads to the case. Steve said it all happened in a matter of seconds." Duke explained and sighed, leaving out the fact that the assaulter was a female. He knew it would only lead to more and more questions from his wife. The questions he did not have answers for.

"I'm sure they will find them. Steve is capable of turning mountains over for anyone, but especially for his ohana." Mrs. Lukela noted. "Now let's get to the dinner, shall we?" She smiled encouragingly and turn her attention to Nick who by this time finished washing up. "Go sit down, dear, we got it from here." She nudged Nick, who soundlessly followed her order.

She sat down and used the few moments she had for herself for thinking. It was expected that Duke would know what was going on in his department. What she had no idea about was the involvement of 5-0 in this. She knew that a few years ago the governor created a special task force but that was it. The expectation of accidentally running into them was low. But she should have admitted by now that nothing had recently gone as planned.

And the day was far from over, remembering that the reason why she came here is still in her bag. Stalling would only make it worse – she knew she would regret not getting immediately down to the business at some point.

 _'Which deity have I angered to deserve this?'_ She sighed, getting up to get her bag before everyone sat down to eat the dinner. She picked it up from the seat as Duke with full hands walked into the dining room.

He looked at her curiously. "I hope you're not leaving." He frowned, not liking the idea of their guest leaving. There were still too many unsaid stories from the last decade he wanted to hear about. Stories he wanted to share, as the thought of his colleague and a good friend who tragically died a few years ago crossed his mind. She knew that man as well as she knew Duke and it was only fair to tell her about the unfortunate event.

"No, no, I'm not." _Yet._ "Don't worry." She forced the smile and tightened the grip on the bag. It's now or never. A long breath in and breathe out. "Actually, I was hoping I could talk to you for a second… in somewhere more private."

"Sure," Duke answered and furrowed his forehead in concern. He set the plates down on the dining table. "Is everything alright?" He asked although he had the feeling that something is definitely not okay.

Before Nick could answer, Mrs. Lukela emerged from the kitchen with a bowl of noodles. She saw a box that was lying on the table unnoticed, it did not belong there, and she scolded her husband for leaving things wherever he wanted.

"It's from work, someone's going to pick it up soon." Duke answered, more concerned about the expression on Nick's face than about some box.

Mrs. Lukela sighed and retreated to the kitchen. Duke took the box to put it on a small cupboard in the living room, close to the hall. As he went to put it down, the doorbell rang. "Just in time." He said to himself and then turned to Nick, who was standing by the table, waiting for him. "It will be just a minute, okay? I'll just hand it over." Nick nodded, and he left to open the front door with the box in his hands.

She stood there, the anxiety rising once again. ' _Shit! Should have done it sooner.'_ She cursed.

This had not been her. Since she had arrived, she had not been herself. Back in the Middle East, or wherever she had been, she knew the possible outcomes of her every step. Everything had been making sense to her, in its own way. This, on the contrary, had been uncharted waters. But still, she was supposed to handle a wide range of situations. She had trained a good part of her life to be strong, fast, rational. But why she felt like she failed in every discipline?

Seeing that Duke is still at the door talking to someone, she went to the kitchen to help with anything Mrs. Lukela would tell her to do, subconsciously taking the bag with her on her shoulder.

"I thought I told you to sit down, didn't I?" Mrs. Lukela smiled. "But you can help with this." She handed Nick a bowl of fresh vegetable salad.

Nick turned around and was about to take it to the table, but Duke stopped in front of her. He moved to the side, turning his attention to his wife. "We're setting a table for one more person." He casually told his wife, reaching out for more plates.

"Who's our new guest?" She asked, curious about the newcomer.

"It's…" Duke answered her, but Nick did not hear the ending of the sentence as she was already on her way to the dining table. "He just went to put the box in the car, he'll be right here." The voices reappeared as they both walked into the dining room, carrying the rest of the dinner. They set it down and Duke turned to Nick.

"I hope you don't mind, a friend is staying over for a dinner." Duke informed Nick in hope she would be okay with someone new sitting at the table with them. "We can talk later?" He proposed.

She should not have problem with it, it was not her house after all. But it might get in the way of her objective. And maybe she worried too much. She might actually enjoy the dinner before she confided with the real reason of her visit. "It's fine with me." She genuinely smiled and nodded to answer the question. ' _I guess I have no choice.'_ She internally sighed, wondering how much longer this misery would last.

There was a sound of closing door and she went around the table to sit down. Before she could do it, she noticed the newcomer approaching them. She did not pay much attention to him. Still preoccupied with her own thoughts she was about to pull away her stool from behind the table.

"Aloha." The new guest greeted everyone as he walked into the room.

To say that Nick still had not paid any attention to the man was the underestimation of the year. She froze upon hearing that voice. She heard it _once_. This morning to be exact. She quickly straightened up, her mind instantly went from busy to blank. She was like a deer caught in the headlights.

And when her senses came back to her, what seemed to be a peaceful dinner had already turned into chaos.

 _'Fuck.'_ She cursed as she stared at the gun that was pointed at her, once again, 'lucky' self.


	7. Ch 7: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked

**Hello, everyone :)**

 **Here's a short chapter, initially a part of previous chapter. I decided to split them, for obvious reasons.**

 **I'm confident I'll be able to update at least one more chapter in the next couple of days.**

 **Once again, enjoy! :)**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Chapter 7: Ain't No Rest For The Wicked**

"To be honest, I didn't see this coming." Kono said to her cousin Chin as they wrapped up another case, handing off the accomplice to the murder of Navy Lieutenant to the fellow officers.

"Me neither, cuz. But it is, what it is." He admitted. "Let's make sure Steve doesn't do anything stupid."

They turned around to get back in the house where a few minutes ago surprised the murderer and her accomplice while they were packing their bag, most likely ready to find themselves a new place to live, far away from Hawaii. Little did they know that they would not have made it out of the house.

Chin and Kono turned around to corner only to see a handcuffed woman, who was completely out of her mind, shouting and screaming around her. She should have known that it was in her best interests to stick to the right to remain silent as they saw Steve having a tight grip on her arm, leading her out of the house. He usually was squared away, but everyone around them could sense that he was slipping. The blood in his veins had been boiling. Even more after he found out that a young man with a promising career in the US Navy was murdered out of passion.

The woman who right now claimed that she loved him so much, put a single bullet in him. Only because he left her to pursue his own professional career on the sea. She confronted him about his decision and did not like the outcome. The situation got heated and only a moment kept her from pulling out the gun from her bag. Poor sailor did not even realize that it was his own gun aimed at him.

One shot changed many lives in one moment. The parents lost a child. A simple woman became a murderer. Her best friend became an accomplice, when he with no hesitation agreed to help her move the lifeless body. It was not right. It was not fair. And that is how it worked in this world.

Steve tried to keep his mind concentrated on something else, less harmful. But it did not work as his mind shifted to the early morning encounter with the stranger in Joe White's house. One case might be wrapped, but there was still one waiting to be figured out.

"Steve, you alright?" Chin asked as he approached his boss, placing a hand on his shoulder.

"Yeah. Yeah I'm good" Steve shook it off. "It's just… this case. Hell, everything what's going on right now is…" He did not know how to properly finish the sentence.

"I know. Believe me." Chin gave him a sympathetic look and stepped away.

Steve took care of all the necessities and went over to Kono, Chin and Sergeant Lukela, who were standing on the sidewalk and talking.

Steve ordered Kono and Chin to meet at the headquarters while he would quickly make a stop to take a look at Danny who was supposed to rest due to the head injury he sustained in the morning.

"Steve!" Duke called after him as he was about to get into his truck. He stopped, listening to what the Sergeant had to say. "I've been doing some cleaning in the attic and-"

"You've been cleaning?" Steve asked slightly amused.

"Okay, my lovely wife was." He admitted. "But we… she found some old photographs of your family. Your sister, John and Doris. Even your grandparents. I honestly don't know when or how they got there but she asked me to ask you if you could come and pick them up."

Steve looked at Duke, alarmed by the sudden mention of his family. The death of both of his parents still hurt him, although recently it turned out that one of them had not been dead. There was not a moment he had not wished that his parents were still alive. And although one of them actually was alive, it did not feel right. It did not feel the way he expected it would. "Sure, I'll stop by." He answered after he realized that Duke had been waiting for the answer longer than necessary.

Duke nodded and turned to his men, ready to close the case officially.

Steve drove over to his house to check on his partner. After finding Danny sound asleep on the couch and making sure that everything was alright, he drove to the palace to meet with the two cousins.

Wrapping up the last details together, he sent both of them home, giving them the rest of the day off as they deserved it.

He made himself comfortable in his chair in the office. His mind wandered over to the unknown woman again. He still wondered if she had any connection to Wo Fat. But what would Joe White have to do with him? Maybe nothing. And maybe he was a part of some large web he could not figure out yet. It would not surprise him. All those years he was aware of the fact that his mother had been alive and well.

But the woman herself intrigued him, not that he would admit it to himself. He would have never though that she was capable of outpowering a grown-up man. He could only guess how many more stunts like this she could pull off, but he hoped he would be able to prevent her from that.

Remembering Jenna, the woman for whom the connection to Wo Fat became her death sentence, he prayed he would get the chance to get to her first.

Steve had been hanging out in the headquarters for two more hours before he decided that there was no reason to hide in there. He remembered what Duke told him that day and decided to give him a call if he would be at home in twenty minutes. Finding out that Duke is already at home, he took the keys to his truck and drove over to Lukela's house accompanied by classic rock music playing on the radio.

He knocked on the door and Duke opened almost immediately, a box in his hand. Steve assumed it was what he came for in the first place, but he could not miss the amazing smell of home-cooked dinner that escaped out of the house through the door.

"Hey there, Steve." Duke greeted. "Here it is. Hopefully, you'll know what to do with it."

Steve nodded in response, looking over at the box Duke held up for him to take. Steve thanked him and was about to turn around to leave when Duke stopped him for the second time today.

"Steve, why don't you join us for dinner? There's enough of food, you can take some for Danny too." Duke invited him. "And we have a friend staying over, I'm sure you two will get along together just fine." He added.

Steve raised eyebrows at Duke's straightforwardness. He wanted to say that he was in a hurry, but the words never came out. The real thing was, he admitted to himself for once, that he could use a distraction, to help him ease his mind for at least a moment and to enjoy a fine dinner.

"Sure, why not." Steve agreed. "I'll just put the box in the car."

Duke nodded and retreated in the house while Steve threw the box on the passenger seat. On the way back to the Lukela's house he sent a short message to Danny, informing him that he would be home soon with dinner. He put the phone back in the pocket and closed the front door behind him.

When he came in, everyone was already in the dining room.

"Aloha." He greeted as his eyes wandered over to Duke's wife first. He broke into the smile upon seeing the petite native woman and went to kiss her on the cheek as a greeting.

But just before he could get to that, he could not help himself and his eyes darted over the set table and landed on the supposed visitor, Duke told him about just minutes ago.

Upon seeing the woman, his smile froze and in the next second it was replaced by a cold deadly look. He was sure the woman standing on the other side of the table was identical to the one from the morning. It was the same woman who had been standing in the middle of Joe White's living room. The same woman who run away and left his partner unconscious on the ground.

His hand subconsciously went over to his hip. The next second, the SIG had been aimed straight at her, daring her to make one wrong move.

Steve, same as Nick, were both completely unaware of their surroundings. They missed the older woman's scream and the horrified look on her face as well as Duke's request to calm down and put the gun down.

There went 'getting along just fine'.


	8. Ch 8: Face to Face (Part I)

**Hello :)**

 **Firstly, thank you for the support.**

 **Secondly, as you can see the first part of the promised chapter is now up.**

 **I am happy that this story moved forward a bit. I pray I** **'ll be able to update more frequently, I would love to know what's going to happen next.**

 _ ***P.S.: still patiently waiting for your reviews***_

 **Enjoy!**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Chapter 8: Face to Face (Part I)**

"Steve! What's going on? Put the gun down, please." Duke requested after he realized what had just happened. He could not believe what his eyes were seeing, the man whom he held in high regard pointing the gun at the woman who once was almost like a daughter to him. His terrified wife was in silence observing the evolving situation right in front of her, praying for whatever was going on to end peacefully.

"Not gonna happen." Steve stated firmly, his eyes not leaving the slender figure. His full attention was aimed at her, same as his gun. "Don't move." He ordered when she moved her hands up.

She knew there was no use in running this time. The best decision that could be made in this moment was to surrender, if she did not want to spend years in prison as she broke more laws in twenty-four hours than any other time before. Well, maybe it was not her record, but it was close.

Keeping the hands up, she internally sighed and started working on pulling herself together. Looking directly into Steve eyes and searching for the inspiration for finding the peaceful way out of this, she tried not to think about the aimed gun at her.

' _One wrong word can pull the trigger, remember'_. A moment later he shook the though off, knowing that the man in front of her was well trained and he would not slip so easily. But she better not try her luck. "Let me explain. Please." She admitted the defeat.

"That's exactly what you're gonna do. But not here." He agreed as he freed one of his hands to take handcuffs. "You're arrested. Put your hands behind your back." Steve approached her, informing her about her rights while watching closely for the signs that she might put up a fight as he was aware of the fact that she could handle herself in a fight quite well. Maybe if she would have demonstrated her skills on someone else, like on some law-breaking criminal, and not his partner, maybe he would have been even proud of that skillset. But he would not admit it, not when he did not know a single thing about her. For all he knew, she really might be one of Wo Fat's puppet. 'But what would she be doing at Duke's place then?' He needed answers, he needed them like yesterday. And he was prepared to make sure to get out of her every secret buried even in the deepest parts of her mind.

She did not protest when he was handcuffing her hands behind her back. Making a scene would make things only worse, which was something she would rather live without at the moment.

She dared to take a look at two witnesses to this unfolding bizarre scene and they both seemed to be at loss of words. And she could not blame them for that.

"Steve…" Duke shook his head interrupting the silence, not understanding a single thing. "What… What happened?" His eyes landed on still silent Nick and he could tell from her expression that something had happened, indeed. Something he was not aware of.

She should have told him the minute he had walked through the door. She should not have waited, pretending like this was only some friendly visit. She looked at Duke and his wife apologetically. "I'm really sorry."

"But what happened?" Duke insisted when he heard Nick break the silence. Hopefully, she would not keep him in the dark and explain what they had just witnessed.

Meanwhile, after handcuffing her and making sure she was unarmed, Steve looked over to the hand bag that had been hanging on the back of the chair she was about to sit on right when he arrived. Assuming it was hers, he gave himself the consent to look into it. He knew it was unethical and on a regular day he had no need to go through any woman's stuff in her bag, but this was a totally different situation. On the assumption that she could have had in possession dangerous objects, he proceeded with the investigation.

The moment later, he had been holding a HK P30 handgun in his hand. Everyone's eyes glued to it, except Nick's, as it was no surprise for her that one of her 'secrets' already got out of the bag. Literally.

"Okay. Let's add possession of a stolen gun to the charges." Steve simply stated as he tucked the found gun, without a doubt Danny's gun, behind the belt.

The husband and wife both looked shocked and before they could say anything, Steve gripped Nick's arm, ready to lead her out of the house.

As she had been standing there, silent again, she glanced once more at the Lukela's, not knowing what to say in that moment that could accurately explain the scene they had witnessed, and without a word followed Steve's lead.

Duke reminded his wife to breathe as the tears ran out of her eyes. She had been shaken after the unfortunate turn of events. He made sure she was okay before he followed Steve to no other place than the headquarters.

When he parked his car, there was no sight of Steve, only the car informed him of his presence. The red Chevrolet had already been in the parking lot too, right next to Steve's truck. He stepped out, only to hear in the distance a sound of motorcycle, no doubt it belonged to Chin.

"Duke, what's going on?" Chin asked concerned. He had been enjoying the rest of the day, having a dinner with Malia when he got the call from his boss who told him to get to the headquarters immediately.

"Wish I knew, Chin." Duke sighed. "We better get inside."

Chin nodded, wondering what case they got at this hour, while Duke simply tried to understand the previous interaction between the Commander and Nick. He figured out they must have met and that it was not pleasant. But that was all his mind could put together as it was wandering over dozens of scenarios.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 _'Basement. He locked me up in the freakin' basement.'_ She laughed drily at the absurd development of recent events.

The dimmed light highlighted the scraped walls of the room she had been in. The atmosphere inside the room would creep an untrained person out.

It was not how she imagined her day would turn out. Getting caught was definitely not one of the options she took into consideration.

Nick thought that coming to one of her old friends on the islands would be a right choice. Even in the situation she got herself into, she hoped Sergeant Lukela would act rationally. She was sure he would have. If he got the chance. But of course, someone else had to show up at the door. Someone who put a stop to everything.

She had to find a way to get out of it as smoothly as possible, even if it meant fooling them. But with her history, she could not be sure if they would believe whatever she told them. For all she knew, she had not even existed three years ago. And being preoccupied with staying alive had confined her building of her own identity.

The only hope was convincing acting, but she heard that the guys at 5-0 were real deal, the best at what they do, which did not make her any happier. What would not help her cause was, that she was sure that the lack of information about her would make it hard to get away from this unscratched, as suspicion would rise with every word that would leave her mouth. Although, if mixing the truth with a white lie here and there would help her, she might roll with it. But either way, she knew she was in a lot of trouble.

At this moment, she could not even guess where would all this lead to. Sometimes it is impossible to predict the obstacles that might be thrown in the way. But this was getting twisted too much too quickly. And slowly she had grown tired of it.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Kono had arrived at the parking lot right before Steve. She saw that he pulled out of the truck a handcuffed young woman, but he only told her to get upstairs as she had already known what to do as he had asked her on the phone.

She had been focused on the task at hand when a question made her turn the attention to the owner of that firm voice.

"Did we get an ID?" Steve asked, almost shouted, as his long strides took him closer to the interactive table in the 5-0 HQ premises. He had been eager to get answers to the questions that had been raising in his head for almost the whole day. When he said he needed to find the woman in question, he did not think that it would be this easy. That made him think, if this was another accident. No way. He was going to find the truth, whatever means he would need to use.

He stopped at the table, looking at his coworker and a good friend, the only female member of this ohana, Officer Kalakaua. The look in her eyes was unsettling him. "Tell me what you got, Kono!" Raising the voice on the people he worked with was not like him, but the longer the pieces of puzzle were not making any sense, the more aggravated he got.

"I don't... This makes no sense. Like absolutely no sense. Her name is Nicole Moore, she is a British national and she arrived here yesterday. Employed as an interpreter, finances check out, I haven't found nothing unusual." Kono answered, fully knowing it does not cover everything she needed to share with her boss, but that was it, there was nothing more attached to this person in question.

"Yeah, and?" Steve prompted to let her continue.

"That's all, boss." Kono said, biting her inner cheek. The whole case intrigued her, as everyone else on the team.

"What do you mean? There must be something, anything! Dig deeper." Steve put both hand on the table, wondering how much more complicated a simple case could get.

"Will do, boss." Kono reassured Steve that she used every resource, but she knew it would cut it. "But everything looks legit. You know, she does not even look like your regular criminal."

"Yeah, remind that to Danny, I'm sure he would have something to say." Steve looked at her and saw the confusion in her expression. And then it cleared and was replaced by a surprised look.

"Wait… Are trying to say that she did _that_ to Danny this morning?" Kono did not need the verbal answer from Steve as it was obvious from the stern look in his eyes. "Okay… You didn't mention that when you called. Now this is getting a little twisted." She remarked, more for herself, but Steve could hear it well enough. "Hell, she's good." Kono admitted out of nowhere, maybe a little too joyful, for his liking.

Steve pretended to miss the statement. _'Not that good if she got caught.'_ His internal self might or might not leap in joy from the small victory. He shook it off, the most important thing was to get at the bottom of this and he hoped it would be soon, because he had been tired of playing games. "What about the phone, did you get anything?"

"The phone's locked, maybe the techs will have more luck with that." She offered Steve a bit of hope. She could not remember when was the last time she saw Steve so involved in a case, except when it involved another military service man or children. But she was not surprised as she understood that it had become personal after the woman had attacked one of their own.

"Good. Let me know when they find something. I'm going to find the answers on my own." Steve turned to leave. "Yeah, and when Duke arrives, send him down." He ordered and before Kono could answer, he had walked out of the door and made his way to the elevator.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxx**

At first, she wanted to try to talk to Steve in the car, but she thought better of it, exercising her right to remain silent. No wonder, he would not care about her good intentions. She could see herself with his eyes. For him she was just another criminal. Okay, maybe not just another, quite exceptional, in some twisted ways if she was narcissistic enough. _'Which I'm not'._ She would bet no one had ever done to them what she had. There was a first time for everything. _'Definitely not for basement'_.

Cursing under her breath she looked around the room for like twentieth time. The estimated time of her presence in the room was about half an hour, she could not be sure, as one officer took away her belongings, the wrist watches in between them.

Sitting handcuffed in a basement, waiting for whatever the fate prepared to throw in her way, was nothing new. She just hoped she would not have to die in here. Because death in a basement would not be her first either. She spitted as the memory of a metallic taste in her mouth flashed at the back of her mind. 'Not going there again'. She fought with the bitter memories that threatened to escape through the locked door somewhere deep inside. It did not matter how much she tried to keep them at bay, some of them slipped through a small gap and replayed her bits and pieces of that one night when the plan did not go as planned, too. _'Damn'_. The only impact the reminiscence made was that she had growing more and more resilient and irritated by every passed second of listening to her mind's train of thoughts.

They were taking their sweet time, obviously, to put her under more pressure. Little did they know it was not going to work, not to its full extent, at least. Nick sighed, getting bored by every minute she had spent in that hole called interrogation room. But she had to give them points for the idea. It must have worked more efficiently than those cozy rooms with one-way mirror.

Finally, after what seemed to be an eternity, the silence that had been interrupted only by her calm breathing was gone. She heard movement on the other side of the door. The loud beep sound, indication that the door was unlocked, took her completely out of her thoughts. Looking up, her gaze fixated on the opening door. It was that moment she realized she was really screwed, when angry looking tall dark-haired muscular man entered the room.

His posture was menacing, no wonder they had a high success rate as the suspects, sitting in the same place where she was, would tell him everything and anything to get out his presence.

She could only guess what would come next, although she pretty much got the idea, it was not her first rodeo, after all. And it is mostly the same. Questions, questions, question, sometimes a punch... or two. If that did not work, things tended to get messy. She did not want to take it that far, though. Not this time. Who knew, someone might regret it in the future.

She held her head high to look him in the eyes. She noticed right away that emotions were swirling in them. Confusion, pain, sadness, passion… for justice. She knew them all too well.

"Who are you?" The military side presented itself. The sitting woman stayed silent, lost in her thoughts, but did not break the eye contact. "I'm asking you again. Who. Are. You?!" He was getting more and more impatient. If she would play with him like this any longer, he might lose control. He had question he needed answered. It became personal for him the moment his partner fell down unconscious and he was willing to use every means available to find what was going on. "Look, I don't know what game you're playing-"

"My name is Nicole Moore." She answered the Commander's question before her actions, or no actions respectivelly, would get her into another trouble. Being honest sounded like a good plan to her, but then, the last good plans went straight to hell. There was not much she could do. _'Screw it. Whatever happens, happens'_.

"What are you doing here in Hawaii?" Steve continued with another question, relieved that the woman decided to cooperate. To what extent, he was about to find out.

"Vacation." She shrugged. "Always liked the idea of surfing. Heard the waves here are excellent." She leaned back in her chair, the left corner of her mouth curling up a bit, which she regretted right away, when Steve came in to her face to threaten her. The only thing that saved her, for now, was the ringing of the phone in Commander's pocket. He ignored it, only to deliver a clear message to the woman in front of him.

"I don't know what game you're playing, but it's gonna end tonight. You think you can get away with an attack on law enforcement officer but I'm telling you, whoever you are, whatever you are here for, you are going to pay. That's a promise." Making sure she understood his message, he left her alone in the room with nothing but her thoughts. Again.

The situation was getting out of hand and she did not know when exactly it turned in that direction. It made her think again about every step she had taken until now. Making mistakes was not in her dictionary, so why did she find herself in the room with no way of escape?

She returned to questioning her life choices, hoping that Duke would be able to put out the raging fire that Commander McGarrett seemed to bring with him wherever he went.


	9. Ch 9: Face to Face (Part II)

**Hello, friends! :)**

 **I want to thank you very very much for reviews. They really made my days better and writing faster.**

 **I hope you'll enjoy the second part :)  
**

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

 **Chapter 9: Face to Face (Part II)**

Steve had not realized how angry he had been until he left the room. Although it was the last thing he wanted to do, to leave with no credible answers, he did not have the choice. His blood had been boiling and he needed to cool down.

To take his mind off the woman sitting in middle of the interrogation room behind the locked doors, who was to be blamed for his current state of anger, he turned the attention to the phone, still vibrating in the pocket.

"I'm listening, Kono." He answered after looking at the caller's ID.

"Both Duke and Chin just arrived. Duke is on his way down to you as we speak." Kono informed him as he had assigned her to do.

"Good. Anything new?" There was a miserable chance that Kono would find something in those few minutes, but he still could have hope that for once they would get lucky.

"Not yet. I'm workin' on it with Chin. We'll find something." She answered, confident that there must be a lead of some kind. Somewhere.

"Alright. Let me know when you have something." He ended the call at the same time Duke showed up from around the corner.

He came as quickly as he could, eager to find out what had been going on. "Steve, will you tell me what-"

"Why was she at your house?" Steve asked pointing at the door, not wasting time, too.

Duke sighed. They both wanted their part of answers, but knowing Steve and how impatient he could get, he backed up to tell Steve his side first. "She is a friend." Duke said, proud to call her _that_.

"A friend? Really? Then do you know why your friend assaulted Danny this morning and took his gun?" Steve challenged him and hoped that Duke would see that his so-called _friend_ was no saint.

"Whoa, Steve, slow down. Are you telling me that she's behind the attack?" Duke asked, taken aback by the new information. Was that the reason why she had come to him, what she wanted to talk about? He tried to understand but it was hard. He knew her when she was a teenager and that was long time ago. Maybe the time had changed her, but he would have never guessed that she would be able to do something like attacking the detective. There was no excuse for that kind of action. He might now understand Steve's annoyance that he had been surrounded by.

But then, he had had a soft spot for her since they met the first time. Sometimes it was hard to be objective, when the mind was clouded.

"How do you know her?" Steve asked, this time with less anger as he had time to cool down a bit, realizing that it was probably not Duke's fault and, from what he saw back at the house and what he was seeing right now, Duke was most likely as lost as Steve, if not more.

"I met her about twelve years ago when she was just a teenager. She arrived with a friend. Left the island alone a little later." Duke remembered the conditions they met under. He knew the story had still hurt Nick, but she was not here. There was only Steve, so he could tell him everything, having clean conscience as it would not trigger in Steve any unwanted painful memories as it would happen in Nick's case.

"The friend she came with, Rebeka, was murdered one night. And after that Nicole spent some time with us at our house. We weren't ready to let her leave alone or send her home. The state she was in... Steve, I have _never_ in my life seen anything like that. She was left completely broken. The girl was the closest person she had. She was like a sister to her." Duke explained in short what happen those many years ago.

Steve looked up. He did not know what answer he had been expecting, but this was definitely not it. If he had guessed, he would have said that Duke met her while arresting her for a theft or other crimes. But this was a new information for him and he felt a slight change. Losing the loved one never got easier. Eventually, one would learn to live with the pain, but it would never disappear. It would keep surviving, constantly being brought back by one simple word, one action, one bad dream…

"I need to see that case reports." He simply stated. If it would help him understand the woman's motives and get him at the bottom of this 'problem', then he needed to know everything he could possibly get his hands onto. Steve was about to call upstairs have them look at the murder case.

"I'm make sure you get it in the morning. The cases from that time aren't uploaded in the system yet." Duke stopped Steve and reminded him that the approach he had in mind would not work. "It's going to have to be the old-fashioned way."

"I don't have time until the morning, Duke." Steve retorted as if it would change anything. He did a simple calculation in his head which resulted in the conclusion that there still might be a chance for him to get the box from the archive before the day ended. He was about to make another call that would grant him the case reports on his desk before midnight.

"Wait, Steve! Just hear me out." Duke addressed to Steve upon seeing the wheels in Steve's head turning, stopping him once again from making a call. "I know what she did today was wrong, and I don't approve any of it. But maybe you could wait until the morning. Go home, rest. Make sure Danny's okay." Duke saw that Steve was about to protest so he raised a finger. "I understand that you have your own way of making things work but trust me, give it time until the morning and then you can do your job as always." Duke noticed in Steve's expression that he did not like being told what to do and when or how to do it.

Steve had been silently listening to everything that Duke felt that needed to be said. At first, he did not want to admit the truth behind his words but on the second though, the truth was that he could use some rest. He was used to work long hours, but it did not mean that at the end of the day he would still have so much energy that he could give it out to everybody. He wanted to go home, lie in his bed and drift off to peaceful and uninterrupted sleep. But at the same time, he was afraid that whatever business had not been finished by the end of the day, it might slip away. He was afraid that in the morning he would wake up and the woman would be gone in the wind again. And he could not have that. Not now, when he finally had the chance to put every piece of puzzle together.

"I look at you, Steve, and I see you're exhausted, but hey, you caught a murderer today, so cut yourself some slack." Duke continued, arguing that wrapping up the day would be the best decision. "She's not going to go anywhere. I'll make sure of that." He answered before Steve could ask the question regarding the possible whereabouts of his arrestee.

Steve did not like the idea of leaving. He had decided that whatever would have been left unspoken tonight, it most likely would have haunted him, not giving him a time out until the morning hours. Hell, he was sure that the thoughts would not stop endlessly running around in his hear if he found out the answers to his questions. Whatever decision he made, it would not let him enjoy the peace of quiet mind.

"Let me talk to her." Duke changed the line of conversation, not arguing with the stubborn Navy SEAL about his mental state any more as it would conclude to nothing useful. But to make sure he would get some insight on the situation from the first hand tonight, he tried to negotiate. "She knows me. I think she might open up to me." Duke proposed.

Steve raised an eyebrow in a way that could be read as _'you really do think it would work'_ and Duke caught the unspoken question. "You tend to be quite intimidating." Duke shrugged. "And from the bits and pieces I heard, I assume she had been taught not to get intimidated." Duke internally smiled as he realized that she just might have won one point against Lieutenant Commander Steven McGarrett. The Navy SEAL knew what needed to be done to get what he wanted, and intimidation was one of his most perfected way of achieving that. But finding out, that he had failed this one time would certainly deeply hurt him. And somewhere deep inside, Duke was looking forward to that moment when the realization would kick Steve in his back.

A sound of ringing phone brought the two men back to the present time. Steve's phone had been ringing once again, interrupting the owner in an inconvenient time. But maybe it was Kono with good news. Then he would not complain. But looking at the screen of his phone, his mind subconsciously froze upon reading the caller's ID, feeling that this called was about to go only one way and it definitely was not a plus.

Before he accepted the call to face his probably very grumpy and not to forget mildly concussed partner, he contemplated Duke's proposal and concluded that he might actually have a shot at cracking this case. Even if the idea of him not being physically present was not making him the happiest person on Earth, eventually he agreed with Duke, as Steve now had to deal with another person.

„You've got ten minutes." Steve reminded Duke that although he might have his conversation, the time was limited, and disappeared behind the corner with his phone glued to his ear.

Duke turned his attention to the door that beeped, letting him know that he could freely step into the room. He opened the door, without hesitation came in only to see hawk's eyes closely observing him. He almost did not recognize the girl under the dimmed light and it sent a shudder down his spine. The change had been uncomfortable for him as upon seeing the expression on Nick's face he felt that there might be some truth in Steve's words. The scene in front of him suggested that maybe he was wrong at believing a person who had been gone for dozen years. He still did not know what had happened with her after she joined the Army. Maybe it completely changed her indeed. Maybe he did not know her at all.

Closing the door behind him, he thought about the right way to start conversation but too many questions were swirling in his head, making it impossible to choose the most important variable he needed to uncover.

"He's something, isn't he?" Nick's deep voice with evident bit of amusement echoed in the room and caught him by surprise. „The commander. Haven't expected him to be so..." Her voice died down as she tried to come up with the right word to describe the leader of the task force. „Just haven't expected him to take it that _seriously_." She explained when Duke had looked around the room, trying to understand who she was talking about.

„Really? That's the first thing you say?" Duke spoke for the first time since entering the room. With his eyes fixed on the woman sitting four feet in front of him he argued about the choice of her words to him, because those words and the way she had spoken them made him realize that he might not know the person at all. She had never used that tone.

"Look..." she sighed. „I'm sorry. Again. I shouldn't have pulled you into this mess. I should have dealt with it _myself_."

„No, no, stop right there." Duke shook his head. „I don't even want to know what would have happened if you had dealt with it on your own." He commented and then upon seeing the curious look on Nick's face he realized that the second sentence had unintentionally come out aloud.

Nick leaned back in the chair and gave out an unexpected laugh. „This is so _wrong_." She admitted, her eyes never leaving Duke's. „To be honest, I didn't see this coming before I came here."

„What happened?" Duke's voice softened. He assumed if he asked the question now, she would answer him with no avoidance.

„I came to see a friend, I'd say, who I met on an assignment. And he bailed out on me. He was supposed to show me around, it's been a while since I've been here. But he didn't show up. And you know, I'm a curious person, so I went to find out what caused this inconvenience. And since then, the things went straight down to hell." She blurted out, telling her story with mild modifications as there was no use in informing him about every possible detail.

This little information she gave out was enough to get her out of this heated situation with law, especially when it looked like she might have the sergeant on her side as he did not seem to be thinking that she had been lying. Which in her eyes she was not, but one might argue. For example, someone like Commander McGarrett who did not seem to believe her even when she told him her name. _'Oh, right, the factuality of my name is relative.'_ But he had no way of knowing as the name she had represented had solid roots.

„I assume it started when you met Commander McGarrett and Detective Williams." Duke outlined the most probable moment when said things turned to head different direction.

"Yeah, something like that." The corners of her lips rose up, but the smile did not reach her eyes. "And I'm sure you know the rest of the story from the Commander." She smiled, this time more naturally. "How is the _blond_ one? The detective. Is he alright?" Nick asked and Duke noticed the sincere concern in her voice.

„He will be okay. He's at home now with a _concussion_." He pointed out not to accuse her but to make sure she knew that it was just a concussion, as something inside told him that she might be capable of inflicting much more pain and causing more problems than just a concussion. But it was still a serious injury nonetheless. „You can handle yourself in a fight quite well." He slightly changed the topic so her mind would not have to be fixed on the detective's concussion she had caused.

„Yeah, I had good teachers." She mumbled, not sure about the point, if there was one, that Duke was trying to make.

„Was Commander Joe White one of them, by any chance?" The question came out of nowhere and two surprised faces turned to the now opened door and watched the newcomer, who was none other than Lieutenant Commander McGarrett himself. Again.

 **xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx**

Steve picked up the phone and put it to his ear after he turned his back to Duke and was now walking away from the interrogation room. "Danny, everything alright?" He asked concerned for his concussed partner who was supposed to be taking a rest at his house.

"Hello to you too, Steve." Danny greeted like a well-mannered man he was, reminding Steve how he should start the phone call properly, but then he realized that it was probably useless trying to teach Steve good manners and not behave like a caveman he sometimes seemed to be. "And actually, I can ask you the same question. Imagine my surprise when I read the text that says you're bringing dinner. And then one hour later, you're still nowhere to be found. You know, you could have at least told me that you decided to ditch me for someone else. Do you really think I wouldn't understand that?" Danny threw words at Steve at high speed that it took Steve a moment or two to figure out what he was saying. Not that he figured the meaning at all.

"Wait, Danny! What are you talking about?" Steve asked before his partner could start another one of his _talks_. Danny had mastered this skill as the years of partnership went by and was able to deliver at any occasion, concussed or not.

"What am I _talking_ about? You were supposed to be here. And you're not!" Danny tried hard to prove his point.

"Danny, you're freaking out." Steve stated the obvious.

"No, I'm not freaking out, I'm rightfully _concerned_ for my partner. That's difference." Danny continued arguing. "You don't call all day. Then you don't show up later. I was worried!" He simply stated.

"Yeah, okay, Danny. Whatever." He said slightly irritated, which was nothing new this day. He remembered the cause of everyone's today's headache and the reality hit him almost instantly. He paused to think about the best way how to break the news to his partner. There were two choices and neither of them was pleasing to him. Should he wait to tell Danny tomorrow when he would be better? Should he tell him now and deal with whatever Danny throws at him at hand? Wouldn't it worsen Danny's health condition?

Steve had zoned out and was now completely lost in his mind, pondering over the right way to inform his partner about the most recent events, while Danny called out to him more than once.

"…Steve! Are you listening?!" Danny's shouting brought Steve back at the same time the elevator dinged, letting Steve know he was at the floor where 5-0 offices were situated.

"Yeah, Danny, sorry. There's been too much going on recently." Steve admitted as he ran his hand though his hair, walking over to his office, missing curious glances of Chin and Kono who were watching the live video footage from the room in basement.

"What… Where are you? What are you not telling me?!" Danny noticed the suspension on Steve's side and to say it alarmed him was an understatement. "Spill it out or I'm-"

"I found _her_." Steve simply stated as he was sure that his partner would put the pieces together. He waited for shower of unrecognizable words to be thrown at him. But there was a silence on the other side of the line and it made Steve highly uncomfortable. "Danny? You okay?"

"Okay? How can I be okay?!" Danny raised his voice again and the words started picking up speed. "Where are you? Is she with you now? Did you find out who she is and what she was doing at Joe's place?" Danny overwhelmed Steve with questions.

"I'm still working on it, Danny." Steve reassured his worried friend in hope that it would help him lower the blood pressure that was not a good mix-up with a concussion.

"Working on it? He's working on it!" He exclaimed to no one in particular. "I hope it doesn't include hanging off a roof or shark cage diving." Danny lectured Steve, reminding him once again that he did not approve of his action in the past. He suddenly changed the topic like a gust wind, back to the woman in question. "What did she tell you?"

"Not much. She's with Duke now. Hopefully, he'll get something out her." Steve voiced his genuine wish.

"Why Duke?" The revelation caught Danny by surprise. As he knew Steve, he usually led the interrogation and definitely did not like to be a bystander in one. _'Control freak'_.

"Well, it seems there's much more to the story then we anticipated." Steve said and continued to summarize the last one hour or so in one short minute.

"Wow. I had no idea she's a friend of Lukela's. Good thing we didn't shoot her." Danny joked after the new information settled in, but Steve did not find it humorous. "I want to talk to her."

Steve had been waiting for Danny to say that. "You should take it easy, partner." He advised him but knew it would not change Danny's mind. "You are not cleared for duty."

"No, no, no, don't try this on me. I'm fine, and it's not like I'm not gonna be running around, chasing bad guys. It's just a conversation. She owes me!" He paused for a moment. " _That_ , plus I don't trust you being around the people unsupervised, especially when things get personal." Danny added, not backing up.

"Okay, stand still. I'll figure something out." Steve sighed defeated. The fighting got harder by every minute as the exhaustion was slowly taking over. He was a fool. To think that nothing could wait until the morning. To not tell Danny the minute he set his eyes on the woman in the dining room. To let his personal emotions rule his common sense.

"Alright. I guess I'll see you when I see you. Be careful. She knows a way how to give a pretty nasty concussion." Danny's tired mind came up with another joke and this time Steve laughed at it lightly.

The call disconnected and as there was no use in sitting around in his office, he made his way to the two cousins who were watching the live feed.

"Anything?" Steve simply asked as he stopped in front of one of the screens.

"Nothing yet. We need to dig much deeper and I don't think our resources will cover that." Kono admitted.

"What are you saying? That we should take her words for granted?" Steve frowned at his coworker.

"That's the last thing I'd suggest. But maybe we can actually hold on to something she says." Kono shrugged and turned the attention back to the screen.

Before Steve did the same, he noticed that Chin had been quietly standing by Kono's side, not saying a word to him the whole time since he had arrived. He wanted to let it go, but the strange feeling in his gut was telling him to dig into it.

"Everything alright, Chin?" He eyed him suspiciously.

"Yeah, I've been just thinking." Chin waved it off but Steve pressed further.

"About?" Steve inquired.

„I don't know what it is... The name and her look. I feel like I saw her. But I can't place where or when." Chin shared his concern with the other participants of the conversation.

„Yeah, I might help with that." Steve offered. „Duke said that twelve years ago she was a part of a case. She came with a best friend Rebeka who was murdered. She then stayed with Duke for a while before returning home." He carefully watched Chin for any indication that he might remember her actually from that time period. Chin's input might help him find out more before he got his hands on the murder report.

And Chin's face instantly brightened up as Steve had expected, only maybe not to that extent. Steve and Kono could only silently watch him, as the wide smile broke out on his face. „Oh my God, why haven't I thought of that?" He shook his head and looked at Kono and Steve who patiently waited for elaboration. „We met a couple of times, but only briefly. She didn't talk much outside, but she quickly got acquainted with Duke. But man, could she hold her own in poker."

Kono whole-heartedly laughed at the image of a teenager winning the card game, leaving behind skilled players with dropped jaws. „Wait, I didn't know Duke was such a poker player back in the day." She joined the conversation.

„Nah, he wasn't. That was all John's doing. She spent with him more time than with Duke. She was a good player, but he helped her perfect that skill. They were like best of friends." Chin put the facts in their right places as he continued reminiscing.

„Wait a minute. Do you mean-" Kono cut the question halfway and her gaze wandered over from Chin to rigidly standing Steve.

He had been attentively listening to every word Chin said and the mention of John made him completely still, spontaneously sending a shiver down his spine. Two sets of eyes were now glued to him, watching him closely. They both could not imagine the surprised and at the same time angry look on his face when he realized who was the guest at Lukela's house and now they just might have added a fuel to the fire by telling him that none other than John McGarrett, Steve's father, had made friends with the woman downstairs.

 _'This gotta be a nightmare'_. The duo watched him as he put a hand over his tired-looking face and when he put it back down, one of the not so many faces of Steve McGarrett appeared in front of them. This one they had seen today a few times as it was the one that was eager to get answers.

They looked at each with deep concern for everyone who was about to be involved in the storm Steve stormed out of the room to most like go back downstairs.

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Steve stepped in to the room in the right moment, surprising both Nick and Duke.

„Was Commander Joe White one of them, by any chance?" Commander addressed the question that came out as response to Nick mentioning _'good teachers'_ , but two surprised faces turned to him. "Or maybe my father?" He directed the second question to both of them.

"I'm sorry, but what does your father have to do with anything?" Nick inquired, not sure why Steve acted so out of the skin at the mention of John.

" _You_ tell me that!" He shouted. In seconds he closed the short distance between him and the sitting woman and he stopped in her face, the same as when he threatened her a while ago. "Who sent you?" He demanded, tired of playing any more games.

"Oh, for God's sake! No one sent me!" Nick's voice matched Steve's. She had enough of justifying herself and her actions. There were certain people who would not believe a word she said, and it enraged her that Steve seemed to be one of them. "Can't I just come to see a friend who I owe a life to? Or is it a crime now? Why is that so incomprehensible to you? Just because I punched your partner you've made it your mission to make my life hell? Please, be my guest! But I'm telling you, I've already had enough of this!" Her voice broke at the end of the sentence from shouting at Steve so much that it left her with sore throat. Steve and Duke were just looking at her in complete silence, both dumbfounded by the unexpected outburst. "From what I've heard, I presumed you'd be kind of… _different_." She finished her speech gravelly.

Steve came out of the trance in a matter of second. "Yeah, well, time changes people." He drily stated.

"Okay, let's take a break." Duke stepped into the conversation before it would escalate into a physical fight. As much as it might be interesting to watch them, he was genuinely concerned that with so much hatred in the air it would become a deathmatch. He observed the two of them for a moment before he came to a conclusion that they both were like two sides of the same coin. Stubborn, hard-headed, loyal to their principles, and not to forget explosive temper. Duke came out of his thoughts after he heard Steve speak.

"Get up." He ordered Nick sternly after he unlocked the handcuffs on her left hand.

"So what, am I finally gonna spend the rest of the night in jail?" She asked him like nothing had happened moments before. She told him exactly the truth that had been on her mind for a while. It was not her fault that he did not understand. That he did not _want_ to understand. And she was just too exhausted to come up with another way to persuade him about the good intentions and her actions. In other words, she was just tired of endless and meaningless fight.

"Isn't that where you belong?" He retorted, leading her out of the room with Duke quietly following right behind them.

Duke was not wasting any word as it would probably have no impact at neither of them.


End file.
